Volkswagen's new generation Golf will be revealed next week, and will be up to 100kg lighter than the version it will replace, writes Brian Byrne.
Due for debut at the Paris Motor Show at the end of September, the car is built on a new platform which will cut production costs by a fifth and reduce manufacturing time by 30 percent.
The weight reductions are achieved by using strengthened steel instead of using carbon fibre or aluminium, which are favoured by some competing carmakers.
Volkswagen says the new Golf will have almost 14 percent less CO2 emissions across its range than the outgoing car.
Although Volkswagen has been very cagey about pictures of the new generation, a number of speculative renderings circulating in recent weeks show a sharper-edged car than the current one, with cues from the Scirocco.
