With the venerable Volkswagen Golf 7 GTI barely in the hands of its European dealers, ABT Sportsline, the infamous German Volkswagen tuners, are already presenting the new Golf GTI 7 with an upgrade package. These may only be computer-generated images, but ABT’s GTI gets an aggressive and sporty styling kit, as well as a power boost.
The body kit includes a new chin spoiler, red grille, side skirts, rear apron with diffuser and new quad-pipe exhaust setup, similar to ABT’s Golf 6. The body is a championship white colour, but it is garnished with further red accents, found mostly on the front grille, but also on the bumper, rearview mirrors, window surrounds, side skirts and the interior.
ABT’s power kit boosts the output of the GTI’s standard 162 kW 4-cylinder turbocharged engine to 195 kW. Much like the Volkswagen GTI’s own performance pack upgrade, ABT are also working on a Stage 2 kit for the Performance Edition of the car, which should be able to crack the power past the 225 kW mark.
Other changes include lowered suspension and new sets of 18- or 19-inch alloy wheel designs. While the seventh generation Golf GTI continues to output modest levels of power compared to its brawnier rivals, like the Ford Focus ST, Opel Astra OPC or RenaultSport Megane RS, it is always good to see tuners like ABT Sportsline willing to push the boundaries of what the Golf GTI is capable of.
