Controversy as VW hint at Golf GTi hybrid

The next generation Golf GTi is likely to feature hybrid power for better performance, fuel economy but probably not cost. We can already run the headline ‘most powerful Golf GTi, yet.’

This quantum leap in powertrain is mostly permitted by the Group’s 48V system which made its debut in the Bentley Bentayga, followed by the Porsche Panamera and now into Volkswagen’s seminal hot hatch.

The new Golf GTi hybrid is expected to run the evergreen 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo charged engine but to inch closer to Audi’s S3 or BMW’s new 140i an early performance target of (let’s be honest, rather conservative) 195kW has been issued. That’s about 30 more than the current GTi to match the current Clubsport yet still below the Golf R’s figure.

It could be agile on the latest version of MQB platform which is believed to be some 50 kilograms lighter than the outgoing, and genesis, VW MQB platform. We’ll have to wait until the car’s launch in 2019 to be sure.

Yet it’s not a true hybrid, as we understand. The traditional exhaust-driven compressor side of a turbo charger will be electrically driven for sharper low-end response and a flatter torque curve for added in-gear flexibility. Further complexity arrives from a ‘boost function’ enabled by an electric motor positioned in the front section of the seven-speed gearbox.

It’s enough to give the once humble, accessible everyday hatch astronomical amounts of costly engineering. Don’t spoil a good recipe…