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A 'hot hatch' is an informal or slang term for a high-performance derivative of a three-door automobile. The term is relatively more popular in Europe because of the popularity of hatchback configuration. The United States also uses the term sport compacts. Vehicles of this class are typically based on a budget, family-oriented automobile, and equipped with improved suspension and a more powerful engine. Front mounted engines and front wheel drive is the most common powertrain layout.

Contents

Development of the hot hatch

The hot hatch in North America

Hot hatches and compacts before 1980

1980–1990—The first generation

1990–2000—The second generation

Hot hatches since 2000

American hot hatches of the 1980's

See also

External Resources

References

Development of the hot hatch

The design most often considered to have started the hot hatch genre is the 1977 Volkswagen Golf GTI, (although technically the first "true" hot hatch was the Simca 1100 dating from 1967/8). The Renault 5 Alpine also pre-dated the Golf GTI, being launched in 1976.
The original 1974 version of the Golf was in mass production at this point, and the addition of a 1.6 litre fuel injected engine, sharp handling, and sharper marketing found a huge market for small, practical cars that still had excellent performance. The Golf GTI enjoyed a short run of unparalleled success, but by the early 1980s car manufacturers worldwide were racing to market with their own alternatives. Notable big-sellers in the early days were the Ford Escort XR3i, and Vauxhall Astra GTE.
By the end of the 1980s the hot hatch had taken its place across Europe, and was pushing into other worldwide markets. The brief heyday of Group B rallying pushed the hot hatch genre to its limits, and small numbers of ultra-high performance variants were manufactured to comply with the rally rules. These enthusiasts vehicles represented a brief, extreme branch of the hot hatch, and included such notable vehicles as the Peugeot 205 T-16 and MG Metro 6R4.

The hot hatch in North America

Before the Volkswagen Rabbit (the North American version of the Golf) was introduced in GTI form in September 1982 as a 1983 model, sports versions of family hatchbacks were little more than cosmetic upgrades of the basic models, typified by magnesium wheels and cheesy decals. The introduction of the GTI in the U.S. and Canada quickly led the American and Japanese manufacturers to produce models worthy of competing with VW. As in Europe, the GTI found several direct competitors in North America. Ford offered the Escort GT, and its Lincoln-Mercury division offered the identical Mercury Lynx XR3. Chrysler offered the Dodge Omni GLH (which the Dodge division said stood for "Goes Like Hell") as well as a special version of the front-drive Dodge Charger hatchback; both were prepared by Carroll Shelby. (A more mannered equivalent to the Dodge Shelby Charger, the Plymouth Turismo Duster, was offered by Chrysler-Plymouth dealers.) General Motors offered a few sports version of its J-car hatchbacks, including the Chevrolet Cavalier Z24. After 1995, however, the J-chassis Pontiac Sunfire GT and Chevrolet Z24 were offered only as two-door coupés. Toyota offered the Corolla FX-16, and Honda introduced the Civic S (later called the Si when that model gained fuel injection). Hot hatches maintained some popularity in North America throughout the 1990's, even as most small cars were designed with trunks. The Honda Civic was the benchmark for Japanese hot hatches in America, but when the Civic line was redesigned for 2006, the Si came in coupé form only; the Civic hatchback was no longer available in the U.S. in any form. Volkswagen remained committed to the market segment in North America, though, releasing a turbocharged, redesigned GTI in early 2006 with a notably successful advertising campaign. Mazda introduced its Mazdaspeed 3 in October of 2006, a turbocharged version of their popular 3, with 260 hp.

Hot hatches and compacts before 1980

Until 1980 the VW Golf dominated the hot hatch market segment. Competition was limited to non-hatchbacks, the Mini, and race-inspired enthusiasts' vehicles such as the Vauxhall Chevette HS. However, sub-compacts and superminis had adopted a two-box design ever since the Mini, and, in spite of their small engines, had been adopted by young racing enthusiasts with little money because of their low weight. Thus, even though the Golf was one of the few cars with engines larger than 1.4 L and with more than 100 hp (75 kW), other hatches were on their way to becoming "hot". Also, cars such as the Hillman Imp or the Simca Rallye, while having sedan bodies, were small enough to be considered direct ancestors of the hot hatch.

★ Alfa Romeo Alfasud TI

★ AMC Gremlin X

★ AMC Spirit AMX

★ Autobianchi A112 Abarth

★ Austin/Morris Mini Cooper/Cooper S/1275 GT

★ Chevrolet Vega Cosworth Vega

★ Datsun/Nissan Cherry 120A

★ Datsun/Nissan Sunny/B110 1200 SSS

★ Fiat 600 Abarth

★ Fiat 127 Sport

★ Hillman Imp

★ Holden Torana SS (LX model, could be considered more a liftback)

★ Pontiac Astre Formula

★ Renault 8 Gordini

★ Renault 5 Alpine/Gordini/Alpine Turbo

★ Simca 1100

★ Simca Rallye /2

★ Talbot Sunbeam Lotus

★ Vauxhall Chevette HS

★ Volkswagen Golf GTI

1980–1990—The first generation

The first generation of hot hatches included the following notable models:

★ Chevrolet Sprint Turbo

★ Citroën Visa Crono/GT/GTi/1000 Pistes

★ Citroën AX GT/Sport

★ Daihatsu Charade GTti

★ Fiat Uno Turbo

★ Fiat Ritmo/Strada Abarth 125 TC/Abarth 130 TC

★ Ford Escort XR3/XR3i/RS Turbo

★ Ford Fiesta XR2/XR2i/RS

★ Ford Laser TX3/TX3 Turbo/TX3 Turbo 4WD

★ Honda City Turbo/Turbo II

★ Honda Civic / CR-X Si (DOHC) and VTEC

★ Lancia Y10 Turbo/GT i.e.

★ Lancia Delta HF Turbo/Integrale

★ Mazda 323 GTX 4WD Turbo

★ MG Metro 1300/Turbo

★ MG Maestro 1600/EFI/Turbo

★ Mitsubishi Colt GTi

★ Opel Corsa/Vauxhall Nova SR/GT/GSi/GTE

★ Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra GT/GSi/GTE

★ Peugeot 205 Rallye/GTi 1.6/GTi 1.9

★ Peugeot 309 GTi/GTi 16V

★ Pontiac LeMans GSE

★ Proton Satria GTi 16V

★ Renault 5 Turbo/Turbo 2/GT Turbo

★ Renault 11 Turbo

★ Talbot Sunbeam Lotus

★ Toyota Corolla GTS

★ Volkswagen Polo G40

★ Volkswagen Golf GTI/GTI 16v/G60

★ Volvo 480 ES Turbo

1990–2000—The second generation

With the Golf getting slower, heavier and more expensive to match its target market, space opened for a new breed of hot hatches in the 1990s:

★ Alfa Romeo 145/6 Cloverleaf/Ti

★ BMW 3 series Compact 318ti/323ti

★ Citroën AX GTi

★ Citroën Saxo VTR/VTS

★ Citroën ZX Volcane/16s

★ Daihatsu Charade GTti

★ Fiat Punto GT

★ Fiat Tipo Sedicivalvole

★ Ford Escort RS 2000/Cosworth

★ Honda Civic CRX/VTEC/VTi/SiR-II

★ Mazda 323 GTX 4WD/GT-R

★ Mitsubishi Colt GTi

★ Nissan Sunny/Pulsar GTi/GTi-R

★ Nissan Pulsar N14 SSS

★ Nissan Almera GTi

★ Opel/Vauxhall Corsa GSi 16v

★ Opel/Vauxhall Astra GSi 16v

★ Proton Satria GTi/1.8/16v

★ Peugeot 106 Rallye/XSi/GTi

★ Peugeot 306 S16/GTi

★ Renault Clio 16V/Williams

★ Renault 19 16V/16S

★ Renault Mégane Coupe 16S

★ Rover Metro/114 GTi/GTa

★ Rover 220 GTi/1.8 VVC

★ Rover 200 Vi 1.8 VVC

★ SEAT Ibiza GTi/GT 16v/Cupra

★ Suzuki Baleno GTi

★ Suzuki Cultus/Swift GTi

★ Toyota Starlet Turbo

★ Toyota Corolla GTi

★ Volkswagen Polo GTI

★ Volkswagen Golf GTI/VR6

Hot hatches since 2000

The late 1990s saw a gradual shift away from lightweight, economical small cars and the introduction of new market category-blurring vehicles such as the Subaru WRX wagon.
Recent hot hatches include the following models:

★ Acura RSX

★ Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 TS/GTA

★ Audi S3

★ BMW 1 Series 120i/130i

★ Citroën C2 VTR/VTS

★ Citroën Xsara VTS

★ Citroën C4 VTS

★ Daihatsu Sirion Rally 2/4 (Sirion GTvi in Australia)

★ Fiat Bravo HGT

★ Fiat Panda 100HP

★ Fiat Punto HGT

★ Fiat Stilo Abarth

★ Ford Fiesta ST

★ Ford Focus ST170/SVT/RS Turbo/ST Turbo (XR5 Turbo in Australia)

★ Honda Civic Si/Type-R

★ Mazda 3/Axela SP23/Mazdaspeed3/3 MPS

★ MG ZR 160

★ MG ZS 180

★ MINI Cooper/Cooper S

★ Mitsubishi Colt CZT 1.5 Turbo/Ralliart Version-R

★ Nissan Micra 160 SR

★ Opel/Vauxhall GSi 16v

★ Opel/Vauxhall OPC/OPC Turbo/VXR (Holden Astra SRi Turbo/HSV VXR in Australia)

★ Peugeot 206 S16/GTi 138/RC/GTi 180

★ Peugeot 207 GTi

★ Proton Satria R3 GTi 1.8/16v

★ Renault Clio RS 2.0/V6

★ Renault Mégane RS

★ Rover 25 GTi

★ SEAT Ibiza 1.8T Cupra/1.9TDI Cupra 1.8T FR/1.9TDI FR

★ SEAT León Cupra R 2.0 TFSI/2.0 TDI FR 2.0 TFSI/2.0 TDI

★ Scion tC 2.4 vvt-i

★ Skoda Fabia vRS

★ Suzuki Ignis Sport

★ Suzuki Swift Sport

★ Toyota Vitz/Yaris T Sport (Echo Sportivo in Australia)

★ Toyota Corolla T Sport (Corolla Sportivo in Australia)

★ Volkswagen Lupo GTI

★ Volkswagen Polo GTI 1.8T

★ Volkswagen Golf R32/GTI/GT

★ Volvo C30

American hot hatches of the 1980's

★ Chevrolet Cavalier Z24

★ Chevrolet Citation X11

★ Dodge Shelby Charger

★ Dodge Omni GLH

★ Ford Escort GT

★ Mercury Lynx XR3

★ Plymouth Turismo Duster

See also

★ Sport compact

★ Import Scene

★ Muscle car

External Resources

Hot Hatch Heaven - Daily News & Information of the Global Hot Hatch Scene

References