2018 VW Polo GTI showcased at IAA 2017 - Live

The 2018 VW Polo GTI has made its public debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. Volkswagen is showcasing a near-production concept version at the show.

The 2018 VW Polo GTI sports unique exterior and interior styling and an exclusive engine. At the front, the performance variant sports a front bumper with integrated spoiler lip and high-gloss panels, air intakes with a honeycomb structure, and a red stripe in the radiator grille which extends to meet a red winglet inside the LED headlights. The car's flanks 17-inch Milton Keynes alloy wheels or 18-inch Brescia alloy wheels, red brake calipers and a red and chrome GTI badge.

At the rear, the 2018 VW Polo GTI gets more aggression from the enlarged, two-piece roof spoiler in high-gloss black (top)/black matt (underside), high-gloss black diffuser and chrome dual tailpipes. There's a GTI badge in a direct line above the tailpipes. In addition to Pure White, Flash Red and Deep Black Pearl Effect, GTI variant buyers will have the option Limestone Grey Metallic or Reef Blue Metallic colours.

Black, red, grey and chrome dominate the 2018 VW Polo GTI's interior. There's red contrast stitching on leather sport steering wheel, gearshift lever trim, floor mats and outer seat surfaces. The roof pillars and rooflining are in black. There are chrome details on various elements, including the steering wheel, instrument surrounds, pedals, gear kob, tabs of the air vents, climate controls and a number of buttons. The 10.25-inch Active Info Display has exclusive GTI graphics with a red-white-black design called 'Sport'.

The 2018 VW Polo GTI sports a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that develops 200 PS from 4,400-6,000 rpm and 320 Nm of torque from 1,500-4,400 rpm. Initially, buyers will have no choice but to go for the 6-speed DSG automatic transmission. Next year, Volkswagen will introduce a 6-speed manual transmission option. The DSG transmission equipped model takes 6.7 seconds to accelerate from 0-100 km/h. The all-new Polo GTI can achieve a maximum speed of 237 km/h.

The 2018 VW Polo GTI will go on sale in Europe towards the end of 2017.