The Volkswagen Golf Mk7 is the first truly new Golf since the Mk5 (upon which the current Mk6 is heavily based) and will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in September.

The latest news, however, is that Volkswagen will in fact begin production of the new Golf Mk7 as soon as August, at their Wolfsburg and Zwickau factories. US industry journal Automotive News reports the factories will convert to modular transverse matrix (MQB) platform production processes during a three-week summer break.

The all-new Golf Mk7 will be the second MQB-based vehicle built by the VW Group following the new Audi A3. The flexible platform will be used as the base for cars across Volkswagen Group’s many brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, and even underpins the Bentley EXP 9F SUV concept.

The Golf 7′s exterior styling is expected to be an evolution of the current model’s design DNA as Volkswagen does not want to alienate buyers of its most successful model series. The new car is also expected to be lighter than the current Golf, while continuing to be offered in its familiar body styles of: three- and five-door hatchback; estate and cabriolet.

A number of new petrol and diesel engines will be available in the new Golf. The range will start with a new 55 kW, 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder and end with a 165 kW, 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder for the Golf GTI. It’s not yet known what engine will power the next Golf R, but that hot hatch is a couple of years away yet. A choice of new, eco-friendly, Golf 7 models will also be available in the form of both petrol and diesel hybrid powertrains and a fully electric alternative.

According to Car & Driver, the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf will be available with a new electric powertain. Likely to be called the Volkswagen e-Golf, the car will be equipped with an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack.

The new car will ride on Volkswagen Group’s new MQB platform, which will spawn numerous models throughout the group within the coming years, with the Audi A3 being the first example. The modular MQB platform requires little adjustment for an electric powertrain setup, as it allows traditional or alternative engines to be mounted in the same position and without restriction.

Information is limited at this stage, but the VW e-Golf is likely to retain a powertrain similar to the Golf Blue-E-Motion concept, which used a lithium-ion battery and an electric motor that developed 85 kW and 270 Nm of torque. This enabled the car to hit a top speed of 140 km/h and travel up to 150 km on a single charge. Volkswagen has also calculated an increase in weight of 205 kg compared to the Golf BlueMotion.

The Golf is stretching its appeal! Sources have revealed VW is considering a coupé variant, badged the Golf CC, to join the new Mk VII line-up. The illustrations show how the premium model will look. Similar to the larger Passat CC, the Golf would provide a downsized alternative to a rash of four-door coupés, which include Audi’s A5 Sportback, forthcoming A7 and Mercedes’ CLS.

Despite its saloon-like styling, the Golf CC will have a hatchback and folding rear seats to maximise practicality. The interior will feature more premium materials, too, distancing it from the cheaper hatchback version. Whereas the Mk VII hatch has been slated for a 2012 debut, the Golf CC won’t make it to showrooms until two years later.

Adapted from AutoExpress

The Volkswagen Golf 6 has been in showrooms for less than a year, but already we have the best images yet of how its successor is shaping up. Information on this radical new hatchback, slated for a 2012 debut, has come from the most unlikely source – VW itself!

A promotional video for VW’s recently revealed L1 concept, accidently revealed a groupe of designers hard at work on a clay styling model of the next-generation Golf 7 in the background. You can see a freeze-frame from that video below.

It might be a bit blurry, but the photo proves that work is well underway on the new Golf 7, suggesting a particularly short lifecycle for the current Golf 6.

As with the transition from Golf 5 to Golf 6, styling changes will be subtle and evolutionary – in keeping with the firm’s existing design language. Changes include a sharper snout and more steeply raked windscreen, as well as narrower headlights and more pronounced wheel arches.

VW is staying tight-lipped about the leaked image, but the scene has been promptly erased from the official video.

Adapted from AutoExpress