Skip to content
Close menu
Top Links
back
Top Links
Newsroom
01/16/18
Wolfsburg
Models
Story

Red stripe, black stripe and 115 hp

Volkswagen Golf GTI
Archive
An icon of automotive design: The original GTI by Volkswagen.

The new Volkswagen up! GTI

Only a few cars get their own statue: carved out of stone, there stands a sculpture of a Golf GTI at lake Wörthersee. The granite 1987 Golf 2 GTI provides a year-round reminder of the famous GTI meet, which takes place there over the Ascension Day weekend.

And now the family of powerful Volkswagen GTI-models is welcoming its latest member just in time for the 2018 meet. Following in the tracks of the iconic original GTI launched in 1976, the new up! GTI is hitting the road. Certainly it features the typical GTI-symbols and it is almost exactly the same size as the original model launched 41 years ago. The up! GTI is a worthy youngest sibling to his sporty brothers Golf and Polo.

The up! GTI (right) fills the gap at the small end of the GTI family.
Anton Konrad (second from left) and his counterparts with one of the first GTI.

It's the classic combination of low-weight, a powerful engine and an agile sports suspension which distinguishes the up! GTI. This packages makes for a dynamic ride, hunting down each and every corner with speed and agility. The 85 kW / 115 bhp TSI turbo engine with a 6-speed manual gearbox impresses with its incredible rev power. And with its short wheelbase, the up! GTI feels like a go-kart that doesn't like to beat around the bush, even away from the labyrinth of inner city driving.

A new addition to the family
This family of sporty vehicles with petrol injection engines is made up of the up! GTI (already available to order), the popular Golf GTI – either with 169 kW / 230 bhp or the high-performance version with 180 kW / 245 bhp – and the new Polo GTI with 147 kW / 200 bhp, which is also available to order now. The GTI brand has grown to become an integral part of Volkswagen. The three letters are a worldwide symbol for compact cars with very special dynamic potential.

Anton Konrad is the name of the inventor and father of the first GTI. In the early seventies, he came up with the idea to develop a Top-Golf. Selected colleagues from different departments were introduced to his thoughts in after-work meetings.

After winning over a substantial number of counterparts, the group started to convince the Board of Management.

Already in May 1975, the first development order for the concept was issued: job "EA 195". By September of that year, the Golf GTI was shown at the International Automobile Exhibition (IAA) in Frankfurt. Volkswagen's estimates were for just 5,000 units. However, excited dealerships put in their requests right away for ten-times more, 50,000 units. In fact, around 462,000 units of GTI MK1 were built, making it a genuine success story.

Famous GTI hallmarks include the red trim around the radiator.
The golf ball-style-knob on the gear stick is now an iconic feature of the GTI.

A traditional family brand
Back then, the GTI's exterior hallmarks included a red trim around the radiator, black trim around the rear windows and bumper, tartan-inspired sports seats and a golf ball knob on the gear stick. And thistraditional design is still present in Volkswagen's latest GTI model.

The family's new distinctive features include a red strip across the radiator grille, a GTI logo, black double stripes that run along the side panels and black housing for the wing mirrors. Also technically, there are a few key-indicators, which underline the familiarity, even though they are built forty years apart.

While the original GTI could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds, the up! GTI needs 8.8 seconds. It reaches an incredible top speed of 196 km/h while the original model GTI could reach 182 km/h – an impressive feat for the late 1970s, meaning the Golf caught many sports car drivers on the autobahn by surprise when it appeared in their rear-view mirrors.

Video: The Volkswagen up! GTI meets the Golf I GTI

WLTP-proof: The most frugal GTI of all times

However, the biggest difference between the two models is in the fuel consumption, the contrast of more than forty years makes it clear. The Golf 1 GTI needed eight litres of fuel for 100 kilometres. The latest GTI, on the other hand, has a combined WLTP consumption of just 5.7 to 5.6 litres per 100 kilometres.

With the new Volkswagen up! GTI, driving pleasure has been redefined for the compact car segment, thus extending the reach of the popular GTI family. Like the original GTI and all its more recent incarnations, the new entry-level model with its GTI DNA is designed to get pulses racing in the fan community.

Pre-sales have already started. Prices in Germany start at €16,975.

Like the original model, the up! GTI's seats also feature the famous "Clark" tartan check upholstery.
Brand chief Dr Herbert Diess with the Concept up! GTI in Wörthersee, 2017.
Reminiscent of its ancestor: a tail pipe that can handle 85 kW / 115 bhp.
Just like its older siblings, red brake callipers are a must.
Back to top
Topics
Press
Service
Subscription Services

The Volkswagen Newsroom is an open platform and offers comprehensive search options to all users.

If you would like to be kept informed about our press releases and stories you can also subscribe to our media information and e-mail newsletters.

Sign up
Products as well as Volkswagen AG distributors can be found at: www.volkswagen.de
© Volkswagen 2021

The specified fuel consumption and emission data have been determined according to the measurement procedures prescribed by law. Since 1st September 2017, certain new vehicles are already being type-approved according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), a more realistic test procedure for measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Starting on September 1st 2018, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) will be replaced by the WLTP in stages. Owing to the more realistic test conditions, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions measured according to the WLTP will, in many cases, be higher than those measured according to the NEDC. For further information on the differences between the WLTP and NEDC, please visit www.volkswagen.de/wltp.

We are currently still required by law to state the NEDC figures. In the case of new vehicles which have been type-approved according to the WLTP, the NEDC figures are derived from the WLTP data. It is possible to specify the WLTP figures voluntarily in addition until such time as this is required by law. In cases where the NEDC figures are specified as value ranges, these do not refer to a particular individual vehicle and do not constitute part of the sales offering. They are intended exclusively as a means of comparison between different vehicle types. Additional equipment and accessories (e.g. add-on parts, different tyre formats, etc.) may change the relevant vehicle parameters, such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics, and, in conjunction with weather and traffic conditions and individual driving style, may affect fuel consumption, electrical power consumption, CO2 emissions and the performance figures for the vehicle.

Further information on official fuel consumption figures and the official specific CO2 emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the “Guide on the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and power consumption of new passenger car models”, which is available free of charge at all sales dealerships and from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, D-73760 Ostfildern, Germany and at www.dat.de.