Who do you think will be first with a new breed of hot hatch
Discussion
History has demonstrated that car makers in order to make a "hot" car for the masses have "shoehorned" a big motor into a smaller car. Often an engine from the model range above.
The prime candidates seem to be hot hatches these days, but as the typical "hot hatch" has now grown to the size of a large family car (Focus, Golf, etc etc) with powerful engines to match.
Who do you think will be the first auto maker to drop one of these more powerful motors into a hatch a size/weight glass or two below?
2.0 turbo Fiesta anyone?
Twingo with 280hp?
Polo R?
The prime candidates seem to be hot hatches these days, but as the typical "hot hatch" has now grown to the size of a large family car (Focus, Golf, etc etc) with powerful engines to match.
Who do you think will be the first auto maker to drop one of these more powerful motors into a hatch a size/weight glass or two below?
2.0 turbo Fiesta anyone?
Twingo with 280hp?
Polo R?
doogz said:
Audi RS1?
They've already released a (very expensive and rare) quattro version:Top Gear Magazine
Zigster said:
Guess at that money you could argue it's not really for the masses either.300bhp/ton said:
Polo R?
I have read that they are already developing one, with a MASSIVE 1.2 turbo engine 
Granted, I have also read that it will have a 1.6 turbo to keep it linked to its superior WRC cousin.
IMO, the days of small hatches with big engines have gone. With the favourable turbo charged engines being the pick of the bunch by many manufacturers, they will just stick a masssssive turbo on a 1.0 engine and ring as many horses as possible out of the thing.
ReedyGT said:
Mito GTA with the 1750TB from the Giulietta is rumoured... That will be fun!
WAS rumoured, sadly. It was teased and such years ago, i think late 09 or something. The credit crunch promptly killed that project 
Should i ever come into some serious money, i'm buying a mito QV and having a 1750TB shoehorned in there.
As for smaller hot hatches, i dont see what's wrong with the current crop we have, i drove a mito with 155bhp, and it was seriously fast, with most contenders now sporting 170-185hp, that should be more then enough to do some hot-hatching. The only fault i can find with the current range is that VAG insists on offering DSG on their polo GTI and its seat/skoda versions.
doogz said:
300bhp/ton said:
doogz said:
Audi RS1?
Umm hadn't thought of that. In fact know nothing about them. What sort of power are they running?It was a prediction more than an answer.
Polo R would be a good place to take bets but the OP is right all cars have grown a lot the polo is the size of the early golfs and the A3 the size of early A4s etc
GroundEffect said:
A Focus/Golf is a large family car? 
A MK2 Focus is wider, taller and almost as long as a Sierra. And I'm willing to bet a current Polo is more the size of a MK1/2 Golf than the current Golf is.Car makers can still make light compact hatches.... only the names are different to the ones we used to think of as small.
I know they are making a bonkers Juke, but I think they’ll make a slightly toned down for the regular market.
Mostly the same bodykit, but a more regular engine.
I don’t know if Audi will do a hot hatch version of the A1.
They’ve done a crazy quato version, but I think they are too refined a brand to make a hot-hatch.
Hot hatches are for boy racers, and that’s not Audis market.
Puegeot or Renault might do one.
But Renault already has the clio cup thingies.
And Peugeot seems to be selling itself as a family brand rather than a boy racer brand – except for their sport TT lookalike.
I think it will be Vauxhall.
They’ll surprise is later this year with some little car with an engine out of one of their bigger Astras.
Perhaps they’ll release a new NOVA.
Mostly the same bodykit, but a more regular engine.
I don’t know if Audi will do a hot hatch version of the A1.
They’ve done a crazy quato version, but I think they are too refined a brand to make a hot-hatch.
Hot hatches are for boy racers, and that’s not Audis market.
Puegeot or Renault might do one.
But Renault already has the clio cup thingies.
And Peugeot seems to be selling itself as a family brand rather than a boy racer brand – except for their sport TT lookalike.
I think it will be Vauxhall.
They’ll surprise is later this year with some little car with an engine out of one of their bigger Astras.
Perhaps they’ll release a new NOVA.
Vitorio said:
As for smaller hot hatches, i dont see what's wrong with the current crop we have, i drove a mito with 155bhp, and it was seriously fast, with most contenders now sporting 170-185hp, that should be more then enough to do some hot-hatching. The only fault i can find with the current range is that VAG insists on offering DSG on their polo GTI and its seat/skoda versions.
I don't think there's anything wrong with the current ones. Just musing... back in the late 70's early 80's few snubbed 90-115hp in a hot hatch. It was in reality plenty quick enough and still is today.However many of those models have grown from 800-1050kg cars to 1300-1600kg cars and are at least a class size bigger if not too. Yet in many cases the hot engines of these larger modern hatches are still the same type of engine as used previously, rather than a bigger engine type.
The car makers seem fully capable of building good handling 900-1100kg compact hatches still. But as far as I can recall, almost all of them haven't been fitted with more modern power levels. Again, not saying it's needed, but in a climate of Co2 tax and mpg worries. Surely powerful light cars would be cheaper to run than the same power bigger heavier cars?
Snowboy said:
But Renault already has the clio cup thingies.
I think that's quite a good example, the current Clio is a lot bigger and heavier than the previous 172/182. But wouldn't the engine from the current Clio 200 be great in the Twingo?Snowboy said:
I think it will be Vauxhall.
They’ll surprise is later this year with some little car with an engine out of one of their bigger Astras.
Perhaps they’ll release a new NOVA.
Yeah I'd be willing to place a bet on that being likely.They’ll surprise is later this year with some little car with an engine out of one of their bigger Astras.
Perhaps they’ll release a new NOVA.
I really like this idea. I quite like small cars and long for the engine from a larger model, for example I would love the 335d engine in my 1 series. The 1 series was desgined to take a 6 cylinder engine (130i, 135i) and I'm quite dissapointed they didn't drop the 286hp diesel in there!
I'd like to see a Fiesta RS 2.0turbo with about 250hp and ~1200kg. A few people have put the Megane 225 engine into the Clio 197 which is pretty cool, especially once the engine has been breathed on. The Zr with the 620ti 2.0 lumps seem to run pretty well, I wish MG had done this from the off!
I'd like to see a Fiesta RS 2.0turbo with about 250hp and ~1200kg. A few people have put the Megane 225 engine into the Clio 197 which is pretty cool, especially once the engine has been breathed on. The Zr with the 620ti 2.0 lumps seem to run pretty well, I wish MG had done this from the off!
300bhp/ton said:
I don't think there's anything wrong with the current ones. Just musing... back in the late 70's early 80's few snubbed 90-115hp in a hot hatch. It was in reality plenty quick enough and still is today.
However many of those models have grown from 800-1050kg cars to 1300-1600kg cars and are at least a class size bigger if not too. Yet in many cases the hot engines of these larger modern hatches are still the same type of engine as used previously, rather than a bigger engine type.
The car makers seem fully capable of building good handling 900-1100kg compact hatches still. But as far as I can recall, almost all of them haven't been fitted with more modern power levels. Again, not saying it's needed, but in a climate of Co2 tax and mpg worries. Surely powerful light cars would be cheaper to run than the same power bigger heavier cars?
Yep seen a lot of bloated fat hatchbacks nowdays. There certainly not small anymore.However many of those models have grown from 800-1050kg cars to 1300-1600kg cars and are at least a class size bigger if not too. Yet in many cases the hot engines of these larger modern hatches are still the same type of engine as used previously, rather than a bigger engine type.
The car makers seem fully capable of building good handling 900-1100kg compact hatches still. But as far as I can recall, almost all of them haven't been fitted with more modern power levels. Again, not saying it's needed, but in a climate of Co2 tax and mpg worries. Surely powerful light cars would be cheaper to run than the same power bigger heavier cars?
300bhp/ton said:
Snowboy said:
But Renault already has the clio cup thingies.
I think that's quite a good example, the current Clio is a lot bigger and heavier than the previous 172/182. But wouldn't the engine from the current Clio 200 be great in the Twingo?
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