The mag"s pictures this...

The mag"s pictures this week show how the forthcoming Polo GTI will look. A Golf-style honeycomb grille and new front and rear bumpers help to distinguish the supermini, which will take styling cues from it bigger brother.

Discreet side sills and a rear spoiler clearly separate the newcomer from the rest of the range, while 16-inch alloy wheels hide red-painted brake calipers. The sporty hatch also gets twin exhaust pipes and a more aggressive stance, thanks to lower and stiffer suspension.

The car picturedin this week"s mag is a road-registered model built to compete in VW Polo Cup events - a one-make racing series held in Germany. Vehicles participating also bear a "Cup" badge on their grille, although according to a company spokeswoman this doesn"t mean a special edition of this name will go on sale. "There are no plans for a Cup model at the moment, but you never know what will happen in the future," she said.

Power will come from the company"s tried and tested 148bhp turbocharged 1.8-litre engine. The Polo GTI is set to appear in showrooms early next year, with prices starting from н‚бЈ15,500.

The second sporty model in the pipeline is a flagship version of the Jetta saloon. At the front, the booted car looks similar to the Golf on which it"s based. Prototypes have been spied hot-weather testing in the US, and interestingly, they were seen wearing a GLI badge. This marque features in VW"s history books, but isn"t currently used on any production model. The hot new four-door will be powered by the same 197bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged engine as the performance Golf.

Changes from the hatchback include unique 18-inch alloys and a black, rather than chrome, grille surround. However, according to the VW spokeswoman, there are currently no plans for the saloon to come to the UK.