Volkswagen Golf GTI three-door makes a 2017 comeback – but get in quick

Love a bit of turbo front-drive hot hatch fun but prefer your thrills to be packaged in a three-door form factor? Are you fundamentally a bit selfish and don’t want people to ask you to be a carpool driver, and are also fond of some light hooning? Volkswagen has your back.

The German car maker’s Australian arm will be shipping over just 150 examples of its three-door Golf GTI Performance Edition 1, which will arrive alongside the rest of the 2017 Golf ‘7.5’ line-up this month.

Boasting the same upgrades applied to regular 2017 Golf GTIs, the 150 Golf GTI Performance Edition 1s will be available in just two colours – White Silver or Dark Iron Blue – and will be exclusively equipped with a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission.

It’s not just the door count that makes it a fairly special rig though: under the bonnet lies a boosted-up version of the GTI’s 2.0-litre, cracking out a sizable 180kW. That puts it roughly midway between the 169kW of the regular 2017 Golf 7.5 GTI, and the 195kW of the sold-out Golf 7 GTI 40 Years.

There’s also a locking differential between the front axles and a bigger brake package peeking through the 19-inch alloys. LED tail-lamps, privacy glass and honeycomb-pattern microfleece/leatherette upholstery round out the rest of the visual changes, while standard gear includes active cruise control, lane keep assist, dynamic light assist, blind spot monitoring and VW’s Active Info Display.

Each one will also come with a $340 merch pack that includes a sport bag, umbrella, beach towel and other VW-branded gear.

Pricing for the Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance Edition 1 will be announced next week.