Volkswagen’s smallest, cutest pocket rocket seems to be a victim of both its own success and limited production, with the company’s UK division all but selling out.
Autocar reports that Volkswagen’s UK division has told customers they can no longer factory-order the Up GTI, a rival for the Abarth 500, and is instead clearing out any remaining stock.
While demand has been higher than expected, Volkswagen is also battling through well-publicised production headaches in Europe at the same time, and is focusing on higher-margin cars, and EVs due to Euro 7 requirements.
Never sold in Australia – though VW’s local arm did flirt with the idea for a while there when it appeared in 2017 – the Up GTI slots beneath the Polo GTI as the company’s tiniest car with performance aspirations.
In the UK, the Up GTI costs £17,950 ($A31,600) for the three-door and £18,360 ($A32,350) for the five-door. By contrast a Polo GTI opens at £28,540 ($A50,300).
A proper little Peugeot 205 GTI-style throwback, the VW Up GTI uses an 85kW three-cylinder turbo engine and six-speed manual gearbox and hustles from 0-100km/h in 8.8 seconds.
