VW concept previews Polo GTI

The Polo just got a whole lot more interesting! This fiery little number is one of two offerings from VW at this years GTI meeting in Worthersee, Austria – where Audi and VW fans gather to celebrate their shared passion.

Known as the Polo Worthersee 09 it offers our first glimpse at how a high-performance GTI version would shape up. Unfortunately there’s no fireworks under the bonnet – the show car is fitted with a standard 85bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine – but the outlandish looks more than make up for that.

The ‘Flash Red’ paint job is complimented by a pair of black racing stripes, while the wheelarches are stuffed with18-inch polished alloys. And the black on red theme continues with dark wing mirrors, radiator grille and the headlight backdrop - all adopting the menacing colour scheme.

It’s a similar story on the inside too. A high-gloss black finish is applied to the air-vents, steering wheel and radio panel, while white and black leather along with red nappa leather piping is applied to the specially-made sports seats.

Fans of the iconic Golf GTI haven’t been overlooked either. A unique Worthersee 09 edition is finished in eye-catching ‘Firespark Metallic’, which is repeated as a fine trim line on the 19-inch gloss black alloys and  classic stripes on the GTI grille.

Unlike the Polo, the one-off Golf has been fettled for an improved dynamics. Lowered and stiffened suspension add to the car’s sporty stance as well as its cornering ability and a retuned exhaust offers an even fruitier soundtrack. The 207bhp 2.0-litre TSI engine remains untouched however.

Both cars are being presented as design studies, with no plans for these special editions to reach showrooms. But if reaction to the Polo is sufficiently positive, it could act as inspiration for the forthcoming GTI.