Nother CarGuy

To many enthusiasts (and with apologies to Peugeot), the letters GTI mean one thing and one thing only, and that's a hot Golf. But Volkswagen applies the treatment to smaller Polo as well. And now it's going even smaller. Set to debut next week before the gathered enthusiasts at Lake Wörthersee is the Volkswagen Up! GTI. Though the show car is billed as a concept, VW promises a production version to follow early next year. To live up to the name, the city car has been upgraded to 113 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque. (Though the turbocharged engine's other parameters have not been disclosed, other versions of the Up! Employ a 1.0-liter inline-three.) With only 1,786 pounds to motivate, that's said to be enough for a 9.0-second 0-62 time and a top speed of 122 miles per hour. Now before you go turning up your nose at those figures, VW's eager to point out that it's pretty close to the specs of the original MkI Golf GTI. That “ur-GTI” produced slightly ...

Volkswagen might have restructured their product plans in the aftermath of the  Dieselgate , but they won't focus solely on  electrified powertrains .  In fact, the Germans are said to be working on a  range-topping version of the Up!  city car, which will be named the GTI. Coming to back up this statement is  AutoExpress , who claim to have driven such a prototype in South Africa, and the verdict is on the positive side.  " VW has given its smallest car a real grown-up GTI feel. Just like the Golf GTIs, the Up! has that blend of fast fun and everyday usability. Our early drive shows plenty of promise with decent performance, the all-important GTI feel and excellent quality. It's just a shame we're going to have to wait so long for it ", the Brit publication wrote.  The more potent member of the  city car  is said to use a 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine, with increased compression ratio and a high-pressure...

Volkswagen's diminutive  Up  city car gets a major update at this year's Geneva Motor Show. The exterior tweaks only slightly evolve the current hatchback's look, but a more powerful engine hides underneath the refreshed skin. The latest interior tech offers buyers greater smartphone connectivity, too. The new Up TSI (the yellow model above) is the biggest mechanical improvement for the latest model thanks to a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine with 89 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque. VW claims this city car's performance is on par with the original Golf GTI hot hatch, and the little mill scoots the Up to 62 miles per hour in 10 seconds and a top speed of 115 mph. Plus, the company asserts it gets the equivalent of about 54 miles per gallon on the European testing cycle. You can spot the TSI by looking for a small exhaust pipe sticking out of the rear. VW's stylists give the Up's already modern design some slight tweaks for this refresh. ...