The apparent rejection has however not stopped automotive artists from releasing their interpretations of what a T-Cross  GTI could look like, as indicated by the latest images from Brazilian render artist, Kleber Silva.

As with the outgoing Golf GTI and current Polo GTI, the suggested T-Cross GTI features a number of subtle differences, namely the trademark red stripe across the centre chrome bar of the grille, 17-inch alloy wheels derived from the latter, a wider lower front air dam, GTI badging on the front wings, a black finish for the full-length LED taillights, chrome tipped dual exhaust outlets, a honeycomb fax diffuser with satin silver surrounds, red brake calipers, satin silver roof rails and an integrated black boot spoiler.

If indeed likely for production, expect the interior to incorporate GTI touches such as the tartan sport seats, a leather wrapped, flat bottom steering wheel with red stitching and aluminium as well as piano key black inserts.

Riding on the same MQB A0 platform as the Polo, the expected engine option will be the same 2.0 TSI derived from the Golf 6 GTI, but which has been tuned to produce the same 147kW as the Golf 5 GTI, with torque being rated at 320Nm. Like its hatch sibling, the T-Cross GTI could come with both the six-speed manual gearbox and six-speed DSG ‘box, with drive going to the front wheels. Top speed will however be down on the Polo’s 237km/h and the 0-100km/h could take around seven seconds.

Given the inherent ease of affording the T-Cross with the GTI moniker, and the production-ready like nature of the renders, it would be interesting to see if Volkswagen could potentially reserve its initial decision and make the T-Cross GTI a production reality in next couple of years.