WITH all the focus on its new electrified models, Volkswagen could, perhaps, be forgiven if they put development of its iconic Golf GTI on the back burner.

But fans of the German brand's hot hatch needn't be concerned - for engineers and designers at the Wolfsburg factory are already working on an even more powerful member of the new Golf GTI family.

Our pictures show a near production-ready prototype of the new Golf GTI Clubsport which VW says will be the new flagship model of the eighth generation of the Golf GTI family with a power output of 296bhp from an enhanced turbocharged engine.

The newcomer's engine is more powerful than that of the original 2016 GTI Clubsport which was launched to celebrate the 40 anniversary of the iconic hot hatch, but slightly down on power compared with the limited-edition, 307bhp Clubsport S which set a new lap record for front-wheel-drive vehicles at the Nurburgring in the same year.

The fact that VW says that the latest Clubsport will be the sporting flagship of the latest Golf range would seem to indicate that an even more powerful Clubsport S version isn't on the cards ⦠at least not for the time being.