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2018 Polo GTI Testing at the Nurburgring, Could Come Out Earlier Than Expected

Hot hatchbacks used to take a really long time to develop. First comes the regular model, followed by a commission that discusses what to do with it to make it cool. The regular Polo 6R debuted in 2009, but it took another year for the GTI model to arrive.
2018 Polo GTI Testing at the Nurburgring, Could Come Out Earlier Than Expected 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
It was also a terribly underwhelming experience. Most fans of the pocket rocket genre agree that the Fiesta ST is the bee's knees. However, it witnessed an even greater gap, as the Mk6 Fiesta came out way back in 2008. Ford even had the time to develop a van model, but the ST took until 2013.

Nowadays, development is done in parallel. Some of you Volkswagen fans might be aware that an all-new Polo hatchback is currently under development, but there's also a GTI prototype at the Nurburgring right now.

It's fully camouflaged, so we can't tell you very much about how it looks. But we're sure it's got LED headlights, twin exhaust, big wheels and upgraded brakes. The design of the wheels seems to be a 17- or 18-inch version of what the Golf GTI. It's also using drive mode selectors, because you can barely hear the sound of the engine.

Speaking of which, we want to take a guess about what's under the hood. In 2014, the baby GTI switched from a 1.4-liter to a 1.8-liter turbo, gaining 12 horsepower in the process. If the 2018 model holds onto that engine, it will be one of the few VW vehicles to still have it.

One option for the Germans would be to use the 2.0 TSI. We know it fits because of the Polo R WRC limited edition model. And thanks to the MINI JCW, we also know that people will pay top dollar for a tiny car with a big engine. VW Group just started using a 190 PS version of the 2.0-liter. However, we believe that uses a fuel-sipping combustion cycle. Is that such a bad thing in this emissions-cautious era? Probably not.

Our best guess is that the all-new Polo will be shown next Spring at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. It should be followed by this GTI six months later.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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