Volkswagen Up hot hatch 'is back on'
* City car will get turbocharged hot model after all * Three-cylinder motor produces around 108bhp * Engine will also go into Polo and Golf...
Plans have not yet been scrapped for a turbocharged Volkswagen Up GT city car, according to the company's head of development.
The Up GT was originally revealed as a concept back in 2011, featuring a turbocharged version of the Up's 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine producing 108bhp and 129lb ft. The car - which could reach 62mph in around 8.5sec and top speed of 121mph - was even tested in prototype form by journalists but it was subsequently believed to have been put on ice because of concerns about the business case for a small hot hatchback.
However, VW's board member for development, Heinz-Jakob Neusser, has told What Car? that the firm still plans to install the turbo motor into the Up. 'The plan, right from the start, has been to turbocharge this engine and then it will find its way into lots of models, including the Polo, the Golf and the Up,' he stated. 'So for the last of those cars I can still say that it is just a matter of time before you see a turbocharged version.'
VW is also said to be planning to introduce the higher-powered normally aspirated Up engine into the forthcoming face-lifted Polo - and the firm has also experimented with the 74bhp motor in development versions of the Golf.
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