When I saw the picture above, I thought I was looking at the Mk6 Golf GTI. It is even wearing the same "Detroit" rims borrowed from the Mk6 GTI. But on further reading, I realized that I was actually looking at the design study of the 2013 MK7 Golf GTI.

Although this is a concept car, it looked very production ready with all the GTI themes such as the tartan cloth upholstery and flat-bottomed steering wheel. Like all Mk7 Golfs, the GTI rides on VW's all-new MQB platform.

The most important detail is what lies under the hood of the latest VW hot hatch. It will be powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged, direct-injected unit that pumps out 217bhp and 350Nm of torque, which is the same as the MK6 Golf R. With such tremendous twisting force, the latest iteration of the GTI sprints from 0 to 100km/h is 6.6 sec before reaching a top speed of 246 km/h.

Buyers will be able to choose between a standard manual gearbox and the famed DSG dual-clutch transmission. For the first time ever, VW will offer a performance pack for the Golf GTI. However, power is only increased by a mere 10bhp with century sprint reduced by a negligible 0.1 second. The performance pack also comes with a differential lock that reduces understeer as well as bigger front brake discs.

The 2013 Golf GTI is differentiated from the standard version by the twin red stripe at the front grille, red brake calipers, smoked LED tail lights and 80 mm chromed tailpipes. If I am an existing Mk6 Golf GTI owner, I will be quite happy that my ride will not look outdated as compared to its successor.