Volkswagen has been testing the ninth generation of its legendary Golf hatchback, motor.es reports posting spy shots allegedly snapped somewhere in Southern Europe. Since the car is obviously a test mule, it’s probably still a few years away from production.
To be specific, the car seen here wears the body of an electric Golf GTE atop a new chassis. It doesn’t have any wrap on, but that’s only because it doesn’t have an exterior of its own yet. Once the new bodywork gets approved, we fully expect it to put on some disguise.
According to the same publication, Volkswagen envisions the new Golf as a highly innovative and tech-laden hatchback, but not an all-electric one. It will allegedly support a whole number of different hybrid powertrains, most of them mild but some plug-in as well. Some of these will likely be tuned in the same way as in the latest T-Roc.
While these reports are unofficial, they expose one fundamental truth: Volkswagen desperately needs a gas-powered bestseller in Europe. An electric variant of the same car might arrive later, but it will be sold separately from the ICE Golf and may end up called a different name.
