Volkswagen plonks down up! GTI

Has Volkswagen’s smallest car finally earned its exclamation point?

The tiny up!, which is no longer sold in Australia, will become VW’s smallest hot hatch when the up! GTI is revealed at this month’s Lake Worthesee GTI festival.

It might be two classes below the Golf GTI, but the up! GTI is surprisingly close in specification to the original 1976 MkI Golf GTI.

Despite running a boosted version of the base up!’s three-cylinder 1.0-litre turbo engine, the up! GTI actually has more power, more torque and more speed than the original Golf GTI, which sparked the hot-hatch revolution in its day.

When it goes on sale in Europe early next year, the up! GTI will deliver 85kW of power and 200Nm of torque, all designed to shove the little hatch to 100km/h in 8.8 seconds and on to a 197km/h top speed.

It promises to be more flexible than the classic Golf GTI MkI as well as faster in a straight line, with its peak torque arriving between 2000rpm and 3500rpm, a far cry from the original GTI’s non-turbo 1.6-litre four-cylinder motor with 140Nm at 5000rpm.

Its power also peaks at 5000rpm and is then held until 5500rpm, and it also uses direct fuel-injection to push in 250 bar of fuel pressure into the injectors.

The up! GTI only comes with a six-speed manual transmission and, like the Golf and Polo GTI, remains front-wheel drive.

To maintain the GTI sound while living in a mostly urban environment, it has been fitted with a sound actuator to make it sound raucous in the cabin while remaining civilised to those outside the car.

At just under a tonne, the three-door up! GTI will be 137kg heavier than the original Golf GTI (860kg), largely due to safety and emissions equipment, according to Volkswagen, including a new petrol particulate filter.

It will be readily identifiable as a GTI, too, with a red stripe across its honeycomb radiator grille, a front splitter and rear wing, 17-inch alloy wheels, red brake callipers and a body that rides 15mm lower than the donor up! hatch.

There are signature plaid seats, like on the two bigger GTI models, plus air-conditioning, a USB connector, a six-speaker sound system, a leather-covered handbrake lever and ambient lighting.