Posted by Instagram user johannes.vag, the clearest images yet of Wolfsburg’s iconic hatch reportedly debuting at the Geneva Motor Show in March, sees it receiving somewhat angular looking new headlights with integrated daytime running LEDs, a concave shaped bonnet, restyled front bumper, a slightly updated grille and a prominent chrome strip underneath the side windows.
At the rear, the Mark 8 appears to have taken inspiration from the T-Roc and first generation Seat Leon, with the facia being dominated by the oval shaped light clusters, chrome detailing on the redesigned bumper, an integrated boot spoiler and rounded bootlid. No images of the interior have however emerged.
Like the alleged GTI spotted last month, the Mark 8 will be underpinned by Volkswagen’s ubiquities MQB platform, although with a reported weight drop of some 50kg compared to the outgoing Mark 7.5. An assortment of new driver assistance systems will also become available depending on the trim level, while the range of engines will be made of three-and-four-cylinder turbo-petrol units as well as four-pot turbodiesels, in addition to plug-in hybrid and all-electric mills.
As mentioned, the GTI will retain the long-serving 2.0 TSI motor but pair it with a 48-volt electric motor for a mild-hybrid setup that will reportedly produce in the region of 195kW, meaning that the flagship R could potentially produce as much 298kW from the same engine when it debuts next year.
