Exterior features unique to the new GTI include a black honeycomb grille, shiny 17-inch Monza wheels (upgradeable to 18-inch), red brake calipers and a roof spoiler.

Volkswagen claims the Golf GTI will be very much a driver's car. The engine is a turbocharged 197bhp two-litre direct-fuel-injection unit paired with a six-speed gearbox.

Available as an option for the five-door model is the excellent DSG paddle shift transmission system first used on the Audi TT.

The car also has ESP stability control, power-assisted speed-sensitive steering, sports suspension, and twin 70mm-diameter exhaust tail pipes for a throaty roar.

Inside, there are plenty of design touches to remind the driver this is a sportier Golf, including a unique instrument cluster with a GTI badge, a similarly badged leather-rimmed steering wheel, an aluminium gear knob and sports seats in Interlagos cloth.

Available at added cost are beige or anthracite leather seats, and Recaro racing seats from the middle of next year.

In Britain, Volkswagen has taken the unprecedented step of setting up a website to allow hot hatchback enthusiasts to pre-order Golf GTIs. In Hong Kong, buyers will have to wait until next year.

Volkswagen's original Golf GTI was recently voted the greatest car of all time by a panel of experts at British car magazine Auto Express. The iconic GTI Mk I was conceived as a limited edition sports version of the popular hatchback, with a production run of only 5,000 units. But such was the response to the diminutive speedster, which had a then-powerful 110bhp engine, that other car manufacturers soon started to make their own hot hatchbacks, spawning a new class of compact sports car.

Volkswagen Hong Kong hopes to ship in a display model of the new Golf GTI to tease would-be buyers later this year before it is available next spring.