A months on from its 2016 Auto Expo debut, the Volkswagen Polo GTI appears to be progressing nicely from show stand to showroom – now an Autocolumn spies have spotted a development mule somewhere around Pune.
The prototype sighted looks like a ‘regular’ Polo at first glance, but a closer inspection reveals a given-up rear doors for an added touch of sportiness and exclusivity that the 5-door can’t. Further gets a GTI badges on the front fenders, GTI specific bumpers, honeycomb front air intake, red GTI underline in the honeycomb grille, exclusive alloy wheels, skirts, larger roof-mounted spoiler, rear diffuser, and tinted taillight assemblies.
However, the test-mule spotted here gets 15-inch wheel compared to the 17-inch seen on the international variants. Higher profile tyres are more suitable for India, given the inconsistent road consistents. On the inside, the Polo GTI will get a 3-spoke GTI flat-bottomed steering wheel, aluminium pedals, ‘Jacara’ upholstery, trims with red contrast stitching and touch-screen entertainment system with Bluetooth support.
That would most likely come from the 1.8-litre turbocharged same TSI four-pot as on the international market – there, it develops 189 hp and 250 Nm, sent to the front wheels via a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission or a 6-speed manual transmission. It can sprint from 0-100 KMPH in 6.7 seconds and can touch a top speed of 236 KMPH.
When launched later this-year, the Polo GTI will be the quickest accelerating hatchback in the country. It will be positioned in between the Punto Abarth and imported, expensive performance hatchbacks like the Mini Cooper S or Abarth 595 Competizione.
It is Volkswagen India’s first performance-oriented model that will be imported into India via the CBU route, thus, the Polo hot-hatch is expected to be priced quite expensive ranging between Rs 17-20 lakh.
To read more on Volkswagen Polo, Click here
Also see: Volkswagen Polo GTI @ 2016 Auto Expo – Detailed Report
Source: AutoColumn
