It's Official: The VW Up GTI Is Happening

Thanks to a bunch of rumours from earlier in the year, we’ve been fairly sure that VW is in the process of making a hotter Up. Now, we at have official confirmation from VW, via Autocar.

Given the drought of dinky warm hatches we’ve had in recent years, we’ll heartily say hell yeah to that news. So what will it be like?

A prototype exists with a 104bhp version of VW’s turbocharged inline-three petrol engine, although the production version will have 114bhp. Not a huge figure, but enough to make the lightweight Up a jolly entertaining steer. The prototype features a five-speed manual gearbox, but it’s possible that VW will offer the production car with both that and a seven-speed DSG automatic.

The suspension will be heavily revised, with the Up sitting lower on stiffer springs and fettled dampers. It’ll receive a sportified GTI makeover on the outside, and - hopefully - lashings of tartan on the inside.

The downside? It won’t be here until 2018. So, the Abarth 595 is safe for now…