Volkwagen’s Golf 7 is closing in on its eighth birthday; that is a long lifecycle for a volume selling model. It is no surprise the VW Golf 8 spotted in public with nearly no camouflage a few days ago. Speculation is rife that we would see the Golf 8 at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. That means it will go on sale early in 2020.

Click here to read about VW’s lap record attempt at the Nurburgring.

More of the same

VW is not one to mess with design language too much, as can be seen in the evolutionary shape of the Golf 8. If you aren’t too clued up on your new cars, you may even mistake it for being a Polo. The only area of the Golf 8 that has not been revealed is that of the taillamps. Red stickers are still in place to keep us from knowing the final shape.

The latest generation Golf will be based on VW Group’s flexible MQB platform, the same that underpins other models such as the Audi A3 and VW Tiguan.

High-tech?

What we don’t know, however, is what the interior treatment will be. Industry pundits suspect that VW will follow Mercedes’ lead and fit wide-format screens to replace standard instrument clusters, at very least on high-end derivatives. The infotainment screen is likely to offer touchscreen interaction as well as all VW’s latest connectivity options.

Power options

There’s been no official word, but we can expect VW to carryover engines from its current offerings. There’ll likely be two versions of VW’s small TSI engine, in 1,0- and 1,5-litre displacement. A turbocharged 2,0-litre GTI is always on the cards and rumours abound that the range-leading, all-wheel-drive Golf R will produce 300 kW.

Considering VW’s recent track record with diesel-powered cars, we’re not sure if there will be any oil-burners in the line-up. Perhaps the company will turn its focus towards GTE hybrid variants instead.

If your understanding of German is pretty good you can learn more from this video.