The facelifted Volkswagen Polo GTI has been revealed ahead of its scheduled public debut at the upcoming 2014 Paris Motor Show.

Revised styling

The reworked front-wheel drive hatchback is uniquely designed with a sporty front bumper, red GTI badges, honeycomb grille inserts, widened sills underneath the doors and an understated tailgate spoiler. Additional changes include a new rear bumper and a dual exhaust system.

Inside, it receives a sports steering wheel, unique instrument graphics and contoured sport seats like those seen in the front cabin of the larger Golf GTI. There’s also gloss black accents and red contrast stitching.

More power forVolkswagen Polo GTI

Planned for UK sale from next month, the facelifted Volkswagen Polo GTI is said to be powered by a new powerful turbocharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder direct injection unit from the Audi-developed EA888 engine family. Delivering 141 kW and 320 Nm of torque enables the hatchback to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 6.7 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 236 km/h.

Further changes for the Volkswagen Polo GTIinclude a standard six-speed manual gearbox, whereas the previous model was sold exclusively with a seven speed dual shift gearbox – which is now available as an option for this model. In line with other recently launched facelifted fifth-generation Polo models, it also offers the choice of a sport select suspension featuring adaptive damping control.

We should see the new Volkswagen Polo GTI in South Africa from early 2015. Read the review of the previous generation Polo GTI here.