Volkswagen's Unexpected New Hot Hatch Is Coming Very Soon

Volkswagen, as we all know by now, has had problems with diesel engines. Remember that little debacle calledDieselgate? The aftermath resulted in thousands of recalls, buybacks, and billions of dollars in government fines. The German automaker suffered a significant hit in public opinion.

But that's all in the past as VW is gearing up to launch an array of all-new, all-electric vehicles, beginning with theID.3. TheVW ID.4 crossoverwill debut this April at New York. Before that happens, however, VW is bringing a new model to Geneva that's not an EV. Nor is it a hybrid.

VW has officially announced it will celebrate the world premiere of the all-new Golf GTD next month. The outgoing Golf GTD is pictured here, though a single teaser image showing the model's front end has been released. The new VW Golf GTD will feature, according to the automaker, "the most powerful and… and cleanest turbo diesel injection engine ever to be installed in a Golf." Of course, the new Golf GTD is based on the also new eighth-generationVW Golfwhich, as we've known for some time now, will onlycome to the US in Golf GTIand (hopefully) Golf R guise.

Unfortunately, the likelihood of the new Golf GTD reaching America's shores is practically zero, but it's still interesting to see VW launching a new diesel model given everything. VW promises the Golf GTD will "one of the most economical and at the same time sporty compact models to the market." Performance has been increased while its C02 emissions "have been cut even further, all while simultaneously improving responsiveness."