Volkswagen is planning to introduce the hotter 150 HP Polo GT or could even extend and bring the insanely fast 189 HP Polo GTI versions to India as brand builders.
While Volkswagen India’s sales chart may not be as optimistic as the company would have liked, it has not disheartened the automaker’s plans to bring in more performance friendly products instead of concentrating on volume based offerings. In a bid to connect the brand better with the enthusiasts, the German auto giant is planning to introduce sportier hatchbacks in India in the near future. While the rumour mill spoke about the more premium Volkswagen Golf GT coming to India to compete against the Mercedes A-Class, news now comes in that Volkswagen plans to expand the Polo lineup further with sporty and performance friendly versions of the hatchback.
Volkswagen has been overwhelmed with the Polo GT models doing so well much to their surprise and has given the company a stepping stone to bring more performance models. Internationally, the Polo comes in GT and GTI versions with the former producing 150 HP of power, while the GTI produces an absolutely maddening 189 HP of power. The new Polo GTI is also extremely quick with the 0-100 km/hr run coming up in just 6.7 seconds and will also get adaptive dampers, apart from the other technical goodies and safety features.
It is also easier for Volkswagen to introduce these models in India, since the engines are already available on the company’s other premium products and have been through homologation. The 1.4-litre TSI for the Polo GT powers the Jetta and Skoda Octavia, while the 1.8-litre TSI from the Polo GTI powers the premium version of the Octavia sedan. To be brought in as part of a brand building initiative, neither of these models will be affordable as such. Even with partial assembly, the Polo GTI is likely to be priced at around Rs. 17 lakhs (ex-showroom), and will be difficult to push out of the showrooms, but will be the hottest hatch around.
Source – Autocar