Volkswagen India mulling Polo GTI hatchback with 180 Bhp

Enthused by the successful run that the Polo GT twins have managed in India, Volkswagen is considering upping the ante as far as performance is concerned. The German automaker is mulling even more powerful variant of the Polo. A Polo GT with as much as 150 Bhp on tap from its 1.4 liter TSI turbocharged petrol engine, is one such car that the German automaker is considering for the Indian car market. In a similar vein, the most powerful Polo variant on sale, in this case the 180 Bhp GTI model, is also under active consideration for the Indian car market. The Polo GTI variant is capable of hitting a top speed close to 240 Kph, with the 0-100 Kph sprint coming up in a blinding 6.7 seconds.

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While the Polo GT uses a 1.4 liter TSI turbo petrol motor, the GTI variant is powered by the 1.8 liter TSI turbocharged petrol engine. Both engines are already used on Volkswagen group cars sold in India. For instance, the 1.4 TSI motor (148 Bhp-200) powers the likes of the Volkswagen Jetta and the Skoda Octavia MQB while the 1.8 liter TSI motor (180 Bhp-250/320 Nm for the manual varialt) in its most powerful state of tune powers the likes of the Skoda Octavia and the Audi A3 sedans. These engines have already been shoehorned into the Polo variants sold in Europe. 7 speed twin clutch DSG automatic and 6 speed manual gearboxes are the two transmission options on both the engines.

Internationally, the Polo GTI is available in two door and four door variants, with five seats standard on both models. Apart from the high performance engine that it packs in, the car also gets a slew of features that are head and shoulders above those offered on the India-spec Polo GT TSI and GT TDI models. High performance brakes and electronically adjustable dampers in the sport suspension package are two such features. The interiors reek of much higher quality while the overall feature set is much richer. The car rides on taller 17 inch alloy wheels with wider rubber while the headlamps get optional LEDs. The exteriors of the high performance hatchback have characteristic GTI insignia that differentiate the hot from the warm.

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Volkswagen India is likely to position the high performance Polo GT models as brand builders, in a tactic similar to what Fiat will soon adopt with the Abarth 500 Competizione hatchback. The Polo GT models with higher performance on offer will be positioned at the top of Volkswagen’s hatchback line up, at prices that could be pegged between the 15 and 20 lakh rupee marks. These cars will be low volume offerings meant to create an aura around the Volkswagen brand, thereby boosting sales of its mass market car models. CKD assembly is the route that Volkswagen is likely to take for the high performance, 150 Bhp+ Polo GT/GTI variants. The regular Polo GT 1.2 TSI and GT 1.5 TDI variants will continue being produced in India.

Via AutocarIndia