VW Might Finally Be Making An Up GTI

As petrolheads, we can’t help but look at ordinary cars and think ‘hey, wouldn’t that be good with a little more power?’ And one car we’ve thought that about for years is the VW Up - or ‘up!’ if you go by VW’s irritating stylising. After all, the brilliant Lupo GTI deserves a successor, doesn’t it? Well, it might at last be about to get one.

Citing VW engineering officials, Autocar Magazine reports that the company is indeed working on a hot Up GTI. The incoming facelifted Up is already the most powerful ever thanks to its 89bhp, 118lb ft inline-triple, but the dinky city car is set to receive the 113bhp, 147lb ft version of the 1.0-litre lump currently found in the Golf Bluemotion, plus a raft of chassis upgrades.

113bhp doesn’t sound much, but apparently prototypes are good for an 8 second 0-62mph time when equipped with a DSG gearbox - around the same as the old Lupo GTI, and only slightly slower than the more powerful Abarth 595. Oh, and it’ll almost certainly have tartan seats, which the Abarth doesn’t.

Bring it on, we say…