Volkswagen Polo GTI could cost over Rs 20 lakh in India

Yesterday we brought you the news about Volkswagen’s highly awaited Polo GTI coming to India and it had us quite intrigued. The high-performance hatch will hit the showrooms sometime next year amid loud cheers from the enthusiasts; however, we have some bad news to add to the table. The Polo GTI, in all probability, could cost upwards of Rs 20 lakh in case Volkswagen India decides to bring it here via the fully imported route.

Naturally, Volkswagen India would want to give its buyers the full-on GTI experience by fully importing the Polo GTI. Although by doing so the brand will inevitably run the risk of charging a hefty premium, thanks to the high import duties. This would make the fully imported Euro-spec Polo GTI simply too expensive for a majority of the enthusiasts here in India. The next best thing for Volkswagen, then, would be to go the Fiat-Abarth way and import the essential drivetrain bits and shoehorn them into what can be a heavily strengthened as well as stiffened chassis of the India-spec Polo. This will also ensure a relatively lower price tag of around Rs 16 lakh. 

Either way, the Polo GTI will feature a 1.8-litre turbocharged TSI petrol engine with an expected power output of around 180bhp and 250Nm of torque. This is the same motor that’s used in the Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI AT and the petrol-powered Audi A3. Globally, the GTI can be specced with either a manual or a dual-clutch automatic gearbox; Volkswagen India will offer the latter option for Indian buyers.

The Polo GTI is expected to arrive in India by mid-2016 as a fully imported vehicle. However, if Volkswagen decides to play its sensible card and develop an India-specific GTI equivalent featuring an imported drivetrain, the launch is more likely to happen around the end of 2016.