http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/20...on-gti-planned

The carbon GTi has been conceived partly as a tribute to the original, pared-down GTi. Its front bulkhead, windscreen surround and floor panels will be fashioned from lightweight aluminium and the roof and bonnet from hi-tech carbonfibre. These advanced materials could shave up to 200kg off the Carbon GTi’s kerb weight, compared with today’s GTi, pushing it towards a highly competitive 1125kg (2,480 lbs).
Sources say the lightweight Golf will showcase VW’s use of hi-tech materials and recall the agility and simplicity of the original GTi, which weighed in at just 810kg.

Power will come from the same 222bhp turbo 2.0-litre engine that is set to power the Golf GTI Mk. 7, which means the lighter body will contribute a slight improvement in the 0-62mph time, dropping to under six seconds.

 

Interesting.

 

I think 2,480 lbs is a great number for a compact car. Even much smaller Fiesta weights 100 lbs more.

 

2,480 with 222hp ... man, that would be one hot hatch in a straight line and think of the handling and agility that would accompany that! Only big variable is the price, will all those exotic materials blow the price into the hot hatch stratosphere or is VW developing ways to bring them to a more mass market affordably?

Anyhow, like with the new Mazda 6 and other recent vehicles, I think we're, finally, starting to see a realization of true mass reduction after two decades of relentless vehicle bloat. Ford's on the record of saying they intend to trim 200-400 lbs from all their new models.

 

I they can keep the price in the $30k range, I'd seriously consider one. I loved my 1st gen GTI that I owned 20 years ago. Haven't been terribly interested in the last several generations because of how bloated they've become, over 1000 lbs heavier than my '83 GTI.