Volkswagen rules out the GTI version for its SUVs, but not a GTE version in the near future

The chairman of the Volkswagen group, Herbert Diess, has confirmed that the SUV models in its range will not offer a GTI version in the future. Diess has made it clear that the Golf, the Polo and the Up! will be the only models to have a GTI version.

“I think that with the three GTI models we have now, the Golf, the Polo and the Up!, that is enough. We are betting on compact cars because a GTI is a sports car, with class and with potential for everyday use,” said Diess.

However, according to the CEO of the German firm, the increase in hybrid and electric cars in the Volkswagen range will lead to new GTE models: the sportiest version of its electric cars. “There is a wider possibility for GTE than for GTI,” explained Diess. But when asked whether a Polo GTE would arrive soon, the chairman of Volkswagen stated that it is not viable in the near future due to the price and positioning of this class of models on the market. However, he suggested that other electric and sporty models could become a reality much sooner.

The Volkswagen R division – high-performance sports vehicles – will also continue to grow, and the brand’s own boss has left the door open to launching an SUV in this segment: the T-Roc R.

A few days ago, Volkswagen presented the upcoming Polo GTI 2018 at the Wörthersee Festival, the sportiest option of the popular city car, which will be powered by a 2.0 TSI engine producing 200 CV and built on the new MQB A0 platform of the German group. Furthermore, the new Up! GTI with 114 CV will also join the Volkswagen product range in early 2018.

One of the main novelties that Volkswagen unveiled at the brand’s annual meeting held in Austria is the prototype of the Golf GTE Performance Concept, a plug-in hybrid sports car with 272 CV of power.