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How many chances a new UP! GTI is coming?

76K views 480 replies 66 participants last post by  David Wright 
#1 ·
Hello, I have found a brand new full optional GTI at a reasonable price.
Probably the last one available in my country with panoramic roof :smile:
Now problem is.... what if a face-lift or brand new model will arrive late this year or 2020?
I have read rumors the Up! will likely be electric only but it would drive me crazy if a new GTI will appear soon (especially with 4 proper brakes instead of 2 discs)

I know nobody knows for sure but maybe there's some "insider" here?
Many thanks"
Carlo
 
#4 ·
I agree with the last 2 posts. That's it. The boring Electrical and Hybrid age is upon us!! And Carlo..What's wrong with rear drums on a 985 kilo car? The brakes are awesome.You need to test one.Also, if they had fitted rear discs the chances are an electric handbrake would have been fitted too and they are rubbish!
 
#5 ·
No insider here too but according to "my" dealer there will be no more GTis.
Even the new model.
Just electric, CNG and a petrol model with 60 or 65 bhp.
I can not be 100% sure about this information but I believe him due to environment issues.
 
#6 ·
The Skoda CityGo and Seat Mii, i have been led to believe, will only be available in pure electric form in the very near future.
Just look at the sad demise of the Up TSi engine option on the VW configurator.
The Up is now an old model, being close on eight years in production, and i bet Vw would love to pull the plug and introduce a fully electric only range for its city cars.

Unfortunately, the Up is still in big demand, especially here in the Uk, where it regularly comes top of the motoring press every year.

With increased pressure to reduce car emissions, and to go fully electric, sooner than later, possibly in the next few years, the only city cars available in the Vw range, will be electric.

As for that fully loaded Gti, at a good price, grab it with open arms, you will certainly not regret buying it, and it will be one of those rare cars that only those in the know, will say " There's one of those classic Vws, when VW knew how to build a car for pure fun and enjoyment"

Somehow i cannot imagine owning a UP Gti, if it was only available as a fully electric car.

It might accelerate like a missile, but there's no driver involvement or excitement of going through the gears.

The Up gti is all about fun and added theatrical noise, take away that noise with an electric motor, then its a bit pointless really.
 
#7 ·
I prefer a MK1 of any model, sure they get better as they get updated but I think MK1s always remain more desirable, especially if they stopped making them so quickly like the up GTI.
 
#9 ·
Speaking as an 'insider' working at a VW dealership, we've not been told any more than anyone else here... but the thinking is that if the order books were going to reopen they would've done by now. The Up! is easily the oldest car in the range now, being launched in 2011, a year older than the soon to be replaced Mk 7 Golf. So hard to see it soldiering on much longer in any guise ☹ My guess would be another special edition in the vein of Club Up! or Up! White being the swansong, but can't see the GTI returning. Whether that's good news or bad depends on if you own one or not!
 
#11 ·
Slightly off-topic but it was great to see mine swamped by a hoard of Japanese tourists as I walked away from it after parking up at Cheshire Oaks shopping village last Thursday evening. They pointed at and took plenty of pictures of the wheels, wings, sunroof and front and rear end as they respectfully, yet enthusiastically chirped away to each other in their native tonge !
 
#12 ·
The GTI will not return, the current up! is to be replaced by an all electric model based on the iD platform in 2020, so basically it's now a run-out model.

There's absolutely no need for rear disc brakes on a sub-1 tonne, 115bhp car. The rear brakes do only 20% of the day to day braking, and drums are more efficient at what the rear brakes do primarily, which is the handbrake. The only downsides with drums is brake fade when then get hot, so unless you're track daying your GTi, rear discs are simply an expensive, aesthetic option which adds nothing to the performance of the vehicle.
 
#14 ·
Volkswagen were constantly making claims, that the Up GTi was a modern recreation of the original Mk1 Golf Gti, both in performance and handling.
The one thing i do like about my Gti is its similarities to the original 1976 hatch.

The original Mk1 had drum brakes on the back, and still handled magnificently.
Apart from the extra cost and designing a rear disc set up for an entire range of cars that does not have them, its the lack of brake dust on my wheels i most like.

If Vw are spouting all these similarities between the Up Gti and the original Mk1, then at least make the Up as authentic as possible.

The Mk1 Gti never had rear rear brake discs, so why should the Up Gti have them, it simply does not need them.
 
#15 ·
It looks like that the new e-Up will be just a refreshed 'old' e-Up. It will not be based on the new VW e-platform.
You can see the new e-Up on the Dutch VW site and, surprise, surprise, it just looks like the old e-Up:

https://www.volkswagen.nl/modellen/up/e-up

The text says: 'The e-Up is back from being away'.

There is a desperate need for cheap e-cars in the current market and obviously VW decided to continue the production of the old e-Up with some upgrades to the batteries and electronics. And as the new e-Up uses the existing Up shell there are chances that the Up GTi will re-appear.

On the German VW site you can still see the Up! GTi being presented but currently not being orderable.
https://www.volkswagen.de/de/models/up-gti.html

The text says something like: 'The GTi is temporarily not available to order but we will inform you as soon as it is available again.'

So I think because of the e-Up the shells will be continued to be produced and as there is a higher margin on the GTI and all the components like the 1.0 engine are used in other cars the chances are high that the Up GTi will indeed re-appear.
 
#22 ·
It's not really the next E UP though is it, it's a revision of the current car. They've not even bothered to give it a face lift. I'd be very surprised if the ID3 is the smallest car VW brings out under the ID brand.
 
#24 ·
I talked to a VW dealer today and ordering of the Up GTi will re-open in week 43 (mid/end of October). Deliveries will start with week 48. So it looks like that the GTi will re-appear at least on the German market. Besides the GTi there will only be the CNG and the 60hp variant available. No more TSI or 75 hp Up.
 
#25 ·
Besides the GTi there will only be the CNG and the 60hp variant available. No more TSI or 75 hp Up.
No insider here too but according to "my" dealer there will be no more GTis.
Even the new model.
Just electric, CNG and a petrol model with 60 or 65 bhp.
Excluding the GTi we got the same info from our dealers.
 
#27 ·
A German forum user posted that he has seen the Up GTI on exhibition on the IAA and talked to the VW people. They confirmed that the GTI ordering books will be re-opened in week 43. Price will be 18300 €, about 1000 € more than before. Lane assist, DAB+ and the phone cradle will be part of the standard equipment.
 
#28 ·
Lane assist seems a strange thing to introduce to a city car. Also, I thought the cradle was always standard, certainly on UK cars.
 
#30 ·
Agreed. I still think it's the sort of car that could disappear from the UK order books if Brexit results in a 10% tariff on car imports. They're not going to absorb the cost on a car that will still sell in relatively small volumes, and passing it on to customers will result in a car that is unrealistically expensive. Still, it's sitting at Frankfurt with the new badges on it, so I think that's a clear sign it will be back.
 
#32 ·
Great news if the Up! GTI is coming back, hopefully in the UK too. The suggestion that Lane Assist will be available is interesting, as it suggests that a revised electronics pack has been fitted - if so, what other features will there be e.g. Traffic Sign Recognition? Hopefully one of our German friends can have a proper look at the car on the stand at Frankfurt and report back with the full list of revisions and upgrades?
 
#36 ·
At 1.13€ to the pound, 18000€ equates to nearly £15900. I think the best discounts at launch were around 11-12% off the base price.
 
#38 ·
This is the reply I got a few weeks ago:

"Thanks for getting in touch. The up! GTI proved a very popular model so currently ordering is closed because we've fulfilled our production. We don't have any further details as to when it will be ready for the UK again however, at this stage it's likely to be 2020"
 
#41 ·
Picanto GT line 1.0 turbo looks good as well and very good value for the kit you get, was seriously considering it when I waited 8 months for the GTI to arrive but I knew I would have always regretted it so thankfully I held on for the GTI.
 
#43 · (Edited)
The only thing I can say about a Fiat Abarth being a technically superior vehicle to the less expensive Up Gti, was their outright performance.
Apart from the massive performance advantage, the Up is a far more polished machine.

Significantly better built than the Abarth, and if reports are correct, far more reliable as well.

I've owned an Abarth 695, and due to the very hard suspension, you simply knew that it was not built to last like a VW.

The Build quality of the VW is light years ahead of the Fiat, especially with their interiors., and I recon it even beats the Ford Fiesta, even though their build quality is excellent.

I miss none of the huge performance advantage my 173hp Abarth has over the Up, and the Up is an easier car to live with on a daily basis.

Forget the large price difference, in certain depts, the Up Gti is the best hot hatch out there, better than the Abarth and even the Fiesta ST.

Performance is not everything, but everyday useability and the ability to use virtually all the Up Gtis available performance without getting into serious difficulties.

That is what made the original Mk1 Golf such a brilliant car, and that's why the Up Gti is almost the perfect package for the everyday motorist.

A huge huge shame it was a limited production vehicle, but those of us who own one, realise it's almost the perfect package.
 
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