Volkswagen Up! GTI: Baby GTI on the Way

The micro hot hatch market is about to get a shake up with Volkswagen set to unleash an Up GTI, a pint sized performance hatchback will rival that will rival the Fiat 595 Abarth.

UK publication Autocar first reported whisper of the Up GTI earlier this week. Engineering officials in Braunschwig have responded to reports saying that the Up will indeed receive the GTI treatment.

There is no confirmation at this stage of what will power the tiny GTI, there are, however, suggestions that it will be powered by a heavily tweaked version of the new 1.0L three-cylinder turbo-charged engine from the new Up. Whilst three cylinders isn’t usually the starting point for a fun or exhilarating drive, the Up is set to tip the scale at less than 1000kg that would give it a comparable power to weight ratio as a Mk6 Golf GTI- sounds pretty fun to us.

The Up is likely to receive a slew of visual upgrades in the way of bespoke allow wheels, flared arches and a GTI front end that would make it instantly recognisable as a member of the GTI family.

The Up hasn’t been offered in Australia since it was withdrawn in 2014 due to ongoing poor sales figures, however, the Australian markets thirst for all things small and performance could spell a return for the Up in GTI guise.