Details emerge on updated Volkswagen Polo GTI

The Polo GTI will pack more power and gain a manual transmission.

Volkswagen is preparing to introduce an updated version of the Polo GTI, and a new report gives us a good idea of what to expect from the automaker's smallest hot hatch.

Speaking at the launch of the facelifted Polo in Germany, company executives have confirmed the Polo GTI will be offered with a six-speed manual transmission for the first time in at least five years. The current version of the car is only offered with a seven-speed DSG gearbox that can be controlled by shift paddles mounted behind the steering wheel.

Power for the updated GTI will come from a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder TSI mill that will generate 189 horsepower, an increase of 12 ponies over the current model. As a result, the GTI will reach 62 mph from a stop in less than 6.9 seconds and reach a top speed of at least 142 mph.

The row-it-yourself gearbox is expected to lower the Polo GTI's price tag by about €1,000, a sum that converts to roughly $1,400.

Look for the updated Volkswagen Polo GTI to greet the public for the first time at next October's Paris Motor Show and go on sale across Europe shortly after.

At the time of writing, Volkswagen is not planning on selling the Fiesta-fighting city car in the United States but the next generation of the car might just make its way over the pond if the automaker can draft up a favorable business case for it.