AFTER WHETTING our collective appetites with the AWD Insignia OPC, word is circulating that Opel is preparing to launch a hi-po variant of the sharp-looking Astra hatch too.

The Astra OPC will be based on the upcoming three-door Astra GTC, which will flaunt a lower roofline and a much more steeply-raked windshield than its five-door stablemate.

Not [...]

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WHILE THE 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI is still some time off, Volkswagen’s diesel performer, the 2009 Volkswagen Golf GTD, has landed in German showrooms today, making it the fourth offering in the Golf VI lineup.

The GTD blends the looks and chassis of the Golf GTI with the thirst of a Polo. Don’t let the fuel [...]

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It’s been in the offing for a while, but now it’s close. Real close. Volkswagen has announced that it intends to take the wraps off the highly-anticipated Scirocco R at the Nurburgring 24-hour enduro later this week, where it will share the limelight with its proper race-going cousin, the Scirocco GT24-CNG.

The Scirocco R will also [...]

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Alfa Romeo has announced that it’s purty-lookin’ MiTo hatch is coming our way, and will be on sale in Australia from July.

Pricing and exact specifications of the Australia-bound cars have yet to be revealed, but we do know that we’ll get the two most powerful engines on offer - an 88kW and a 114kW turbocharged [...]

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Seat will be taking the covers off its angry-faced Ibiza Bocanegra at the Barcelona Motor Show next month, giving us a tantalising look at a hot hatch that we most definitely won’t be seeing on Australian roads.

Styled after the Bocanegra concept (pictured) that graced the halls at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, the Ibiza Bocanegra [...]

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After Ford put plans for the Fiesta ST/XR4 on hold indefinitely, rumours that the Fiesta RS (old model pictured) has also been put on ice come as no surprise.

If it ever does see the light of day, the RS would to be the hottest Fiesta on offer and sit above the ST/XR4 in every way [...]

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Volkswagen has shown its hand with the new Mark VI Golf GTI, but don’t expect that to be the end of the sporting story.

There is still more to come from the high performance Golf line-up, and the first of those offerings is being prepared for an unveiling at the AMI Car Show in Leipzig, Germany [...]

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We’ve driven the base model, spied the “concept” and drooled over a smattering of leaked images, but now it’s finally here: the full low-down on Volkswagen’s latest hot hatch flagship, the Golf GTI.

Styling is classic GTI, and is virtually identical to that of the GTI concept that was unveiled in Paris last year. Red-rimmed honeycomb [...]

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Last time we spoke about Renault’s head-bangingly hot hatch the Megane RS, all we had to show you was a solitary teaser image.

Not any more. The French pocket rocket has made its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show, and Renault has unleashed a bevy of pics and some preliminary specs on its latest performance [...]

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Mazda Europe has announced that the next generation Mazda3 MPS will be making its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show on March 3, an event that will mark the humble hatchback’s return to the top of Mazda’s performance lineup.

Appropriately vague specs have also been released, and fans of the previous 3 MPS will be [...]

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The last time we brought you some solid information on the 2010 Ford Focus RS, we thought we had the full story. Turns out we’d only just skimmed the surface: Ford has just released a few extra nuggets of info on its latest and greatest hot hatch.

Example: we already know that the Ford Focus RS [...]

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If you thought the upcoming Polo GTI sounds like a cool little number, then hold onto your helmet - the Audi S1 is looming on the horizon and it’s got a spec list that will have hot hatch fans salivating in anticipation.

Not to be confused with the mighty 1985 S1 Sport Quattro road-legal rally car, [...]

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