VW Up! GTI Arrives to Remind Us What the First GTI Was Like

There’s a new addition to the GTI family, the Up! GTI, and it’s set to make its public debut at the only place it possibly could, the GTI Treffen on Wörthersee in Austria.

The world’s largest gathering of VW enthusiasts has been going on since 1982, when the Mk1 was the only GTI, and that’s fitting, because this Up! GTI is remarkably similar to that one.

Although the new Up! GTI weighs about 300 lb more than the GTI from the ’80s (safety and equipment have improved), it has a bit more power to make up for it. With 115 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque to play with (Mk1: 110 hp, 105 lb-ft), this new Up! GTI can hit 60 mph in 8.8 seconds.

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That’s two tenths faster than the Golf, but because it develops all of its torque at just 2,000 rpm, it should feel like it has more grunt than the OGTI.

Like all good GTIs, the Up! has a red stripe along its honeycomb grille and plaid seats, as well as a front splitter, a rear wing, and 17-inch wheels to make it look the part.

Unfortunately, though it will be shown next week at the Treffen, it won’t be available for purchase until next year in Europe.