A sports car in the original GTI format. It is the small GTI that enables younger drivers to fulfil a dream, and those who are perhaps not-so-young to rekindle old memories: 42 years after the first Golf GTI made its debut, the new up! GTI is here. The concept and power output of the 85 kW / 115 PS up! GTI are broadly in line with the Golf GTI Mk1 unveiled in 1976 with 81 kW / 110 PS. As a compact bundle of power, the new up! GTI pays tribute to this icon – with crisp dimensions, low weight, a powerful and fuel-efficient engine (WLTP consumption: combined 5.7 to 5.6 l/100 km), greater downforce on the rear axle, sports running gear and the typical insignia of a GTI (including red stripes in the radiator grille, red brake callipers and "clark" tartan seat covers). The 196 km/h sports car brings a new dimension in driving fun to the small car class, thus creating a clear link back to the original compact Golf GTI. One typical GTI element is the finely tuned sports running gear. It gives the car the agility of a go-kart, while simultaneously providing a high level of comfort. The GTI is in addition the first up! to come with a petrol particulate filter. With this catalytic converter system the up! GTI fulfils the new European Euro AG emissions standard. However, the most powerful of all up! models remains affordable. As was the case with the Golf GTI Mk1, so too with the new up! GTI: high performance does not mean high prices. In Germany, home of the inventor of the GTI, the product line's top model is available, for example, for €16,975 – including sports running gear (15 mm lower body), air conditioning, ambient lighting, redesigned 17-inch ("Brands Hatch") alloy wheels and infotainment system.
up! GTI with the DNA of the GTI Mk1. With the new up! GTI, Volkswagen is sending its customers on a journey through time across four decades: when the first GTI was launched in the 1970s it democratised access to fast roads around the world. Where large saloons and expensive sports cars had previously set the pace, the new compact Volkswagen suddenly stirred things up. From the front, the red stripe in the black radiator grille, the black double stripes across the side sills and the black stripe on the tailgate immediately identified this Volkswagen as a GTI. Its 110 PS powered a kerb weight of just 810 kg. The key performance figures of the then newcomer and now classic car that in top condition trades for more than a new up! GTI were a top speed of 182 km/h and 0 to 100 km/h in 9.0 seconds. A dynamic drive system was integrated within a compact body (3,705 mm long, 1,628 mm wide excluding wing mirrors, 1,390 mm high), a design as sharp as a knife and classic paintwork. The colours for the market launch were the now familiar "Mars Red" and "Diamond Silver". Later, White and Black also became established as GTI colours. To this day that first GTI continues to influence engineers and designers around the globe.
The sports car creed. The new up! GTI continues the creed of the lightweight and no-frills sports car with a compact format: lots of power in a compact, snappily designed, fun-to-drive and fuel-efficient car. In 1976, a compact car such as the Golf was similar in size to a 2018 city runabout such as the up! The up! GTI, for instance is 3,600 mm long, 1,478 mm high and 1,641 mm wide (excluding wing mirrors). It is thus 105 mm shorter than a Golf GTI Mk1, while being 88 mm taller and 13 mm wider. The interior of the new model scores with spaciousness on a par with the original GTI. Added to that is the drive system DNA of the modern era – a 200 Nm turbocharged engine. Fitting neatly into the just as sharply designed body of the up! GTI, it sees the concept of the first Golf GTI celebrate a sensational comeback.