GTI stands for Gran Turismo Injection. Since the mid 1970’s, these three letters on Volkswagen cars have also stood for high-performance engines and affordable style. From the very first generation of Golf, the GTI model was a hit--especially among younger drivers.drive it! tests the newest version of the GTI that has 210 horsepower and a 2.0 liter TSI-engine. The little red sports car goes from 0 to 100 in an impressive 6.9 seconds. It's fast, but will it have the same cult status that the previous GTI versions did?