According to a spokesperson for the German automaker, speaking with the Dutch edition of Top Gear magazine, the up! GTI can no longer be ordered, as the company has decided to pull the model from its lineup. This decision follows news that the vehicle has also been withdrawn from the UK market.
While production of the up! GTI has not yet come to a close, as the brand still has a backlog of orders to fulfill, the car is no longer available to configure. However, those who act quickly may still be able to find a few models in stock, depending on their location. It's worth noting that this decision only applies to the sporty derivative of the up!, as the standard model and the electric e-up! remain on sale.
2020 Volkswagen up! GTI
The up! GTI, which was designed as a spiritual successor to the original Golf GTI, was equipped with a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that produced 115 horsepower and 200 Newton-meters (147 pound-feet) of torque. Despite its small size, the car had decent performance, going from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.8 seconds and reaching a top speed of 196 km/h (122 mph). The up! GTI was available in both three and five door versions, and competed in the rarified segment of small sporty cars, alongside vehicles such as the Renault Twingo GT and the Suzuki Swift Sport.
Unfortunately, a direct successor to the up! GTI is not currently in the works, as Volkswagen plans to replace it later this decade with a small electric car, likely to be marketed under the ID.1 or ID.2 moniker. The future of the Polo GTI is also uncertain, as Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer recently stated that the stringent Euro 7 regulations may make the supermini too expensive to produce.
