VW Golf GTI and future models revealed (2008)

By Ben Whitworth and Georg Kacher

Spy shots

18 September 2008 14:00

So is the GTI the hot Golf to go for then?

Well, if you want more power, there’s the new Golf R20T due late next year. The R20T replaces the heavy and not-that-much-faster-than-the-GTI R32. Like the GTI, and as its name suggests, it will opt for a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot, but will retain its all-wheel drivetrain.

The engine comes from the Audi TTS and S3, but to keep Ingolstadt happy its power will be fractionally dialled back to around 265bhp so that it doesn't compromise the S3’s performance status. Sources say prices should start at around £26,000.

Anything else we should know about the new Golf’s engines?

Lots. For a start, approach the initial powerplant line-up with caution because it will change dramatically within the first 12 months of the new Golf going on sale this autumn. The entry-level 80bhp 1.4 will be replaced by a sparkling new 86bhp 1.2-litre TSI unit in September 2009. Around the same time, the ageing 2.0 SDI and 1.9 TDI units will be replaced by new 1.6-litre common-rail units developing 90 and 105bhp.

Ultra-green Bluemotion variants will arrive in summer 2009 – the Golf Bluemotion 1.6 TDI emits only 99g CO2/km, while the Bluemotion 1.2 TSI is pegged at 109g CO2/ km.

A year later VW will unveil its Bluemotion II, an even cleaner and greener concept which features a start-stop system, brake energy recuperation and the electrification of the auxiliary equipment.

And hybrid Golfs?

Instead of a plug-in hybrid Golf, VW is favouring the so-called Twin Drive application, which combines a frugal three-cylinder petrol or diesel engine with an electric motor, providing an aggregate power output of up to 180bhp but with ultra-low CO2 levels – and plenty of anticipated tax breaks.

 

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