This is the VW Polo GTI Edition 25, revealed to celebrate 25 years of Polo. While it may be assembled in South Africa, it’s not going to be sold locally.

There will be just 2 500 units of the Polo GTI Edition 25 going on sale from the 1st June 2023 and we’ve reached out to Volkswagen South Africa to find out if SA will get an allocation. It would be fitting, as the vehicle is made right here at Volkswagen’s plant in Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) in the Eastern Cape.

This factory is the sole supplier of the Volkswagen Polo GTI. So, what’s different with the Polo Edition 25? There’s a special colour, called Ascot Grey and the vehicle is sold with IQ. LED Matrix headlights as well as gloss black 18-inch Adelaide wheels. There are also some subtle styling elements like black roof and black mirror caps.

Inside the Edition 25, there are nice-looking sports seats finished in black perforated leather with red detailing, a ‘one of 2 500′ decal on the side sills, and a ’25’ branded steering wheel. Critically, there are mechanical changes too, with a special suspension setup that sees the vehicle sit 15 mm lower which will aid the handling.

The engine is identical to the European-spec motor and as a reminder, its a 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol with 152 kW and 320 Nm. A 7-speed dual-clutch transmission sends all of that to the front wheels and Volkswagen says the Polo GTI Edition 25 can hit 100 kph in 6.5 seconds. As a reminder, the SA-spec Polo GTI has 147 kW and 320 Nm, and retails for R527 700.

VW Polo GTI Edition 25 in South Africa?

You’d think given how popular the Volkswagen Polo is in South Africa as well as the local manufacturing, the new model would be an automatic entrant to showrooms. We’ve yet to hear from Volkswagen SA and will update this article with further information.

Update: Volkswagen SA has confirmed the GTI Edition 25 is only for European and Japanese markets.

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