Hot hatchbacks represent a serious object of desire for a lot of people, especially in the United States. In a lot of ways, they can be considered a performance car in its finest form; it's fast and handles amazingly well, but it's also practical and relatively well-priced like a regular hatchback.

Everyone is familiar with the established hot hatchbacks of the world, like the Civic Type R, the Focus RS and the Golf GTI. Over the years, there have been tons of other cool hot hatchbacks that slipped under the radar for one reason or another. These weren't sold in the US either, and that's a shame, as they look like a lot of fun and will embarrass some sports cars.

10 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R

The front of a gray Pulsar GTI-R
wikipedia.org

Back in the early 90s, Nissan wanted to take their dull-as-can-be Pulsar hatchback rallying. In order to comply with Group A rules of the day, they had to homologate the rally car for road use, resulting in the Pulsar GTI-R, also called the Sunny GTI-R.

Rear 3/4 view of a red Pulsar GTI-R
Via jm-imports.co.uk

RELATED: Everything You Need To Know Before Buying A Nissan Pulsar GTIR

By 1990s standards, this was a completely insane car, and it still is today. The massive scoop in the hood hid a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder dubbed the SR20DET. Ever heard of it? The 227 hp lump was paired to an AWD system and a 5-speed manual transmission. A 5.7 second 0-60 time and a mid 13-second 1/4 mile is crazy for a hatchback even today, but it was really crazy back in 1990.

9 Škoda Fabia RS/vRS

The Fabia RS on the move
autocar.co.uk

In the mid-1990s, Czech automaker Škoda, which celebrated an iconic model's 85th birthday last year, was acquired by Volkswagen. This acquisition gave Škoda access to the treasured VW parts bin, which, among other things, led them to dive head-first into the hot hatch market. But, their approach to the formula was a little bit different.

Rear 3/4 view of the Fabia RS
autocar.co.uk

Debuting in 2003, while the Fabia RS (vRS in the UK) wasn't the first diesel-powered hot hatchback, it was the first to offer an oil-burner as the sole engine choice. The diesel in question is VW's legendary 1.9 TDI, making 130 hp in this application. This variant of the engine was reserved for the Passats and Audis of the time, but it gave the Fabia oodles of torque and insane headroom for mods.

8 Toyota Yaris GRMN

The front of the Yaris GRMN
motor1.com

The new GR Yaris, which recently got modified for the first time, has gotten everyone talking, and specifically saying that it's one of the greatest performance cars ever made. It's such a big deal, that it seems as though everyone forgot about its indirect predecessor, the Yaris GRMN, the abbreviation standing for Gazoo Racing Masters of the Nürburgring. What an acronym.

The rear of the Yaris GRMN
motoringresearch.com

While this pocket rocket wasn't a rally homologation special, it was proof that Toyota was starting to get serious about performance cars again. Only around 400 of these reached mainland Europe, which is probably why no one has heard of it. Under the hood was a supercharged 1.8 liter 4-cylinder, just like the one you'd find in a Lotus Elise. It made 210 hp in the GRMN, sent to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual.

7 Renault Clio V6

A Phase II Clio V6 in blue
collectingcars.com

Back in the early 2000s, if you wanted a fast Renault Clio, there were two main options; the Renault Sport Clio 172 and 182. While both were pretty crazy considering the speed and price, there was one level up from that; the bonkers Clio V6.

A Phase I Clio V6 in silver
collectingcars.com

Developed in-house at Renault Sport, the Clio V6 just looks like a Clio that's put on some pounds. In reality, the two cars share almost nothing, and the V6 gets its own dedicated RWD platform. The rear seats are eschewed in favor of the 2.9 liter V6 which delivers up to 255 hp. Unfortunately, the Clio V6 gained a pretty substantial amount of weight, meaning it wasn't that much faster when compared to the regular Renault Sport Clios.

6 Lotus Sunbeam

Front 3/4 view of the Sunbeam Lotus
automobilemag.com

Believe it or not, the regular version of the Lotus Sunbeam was actually called the Chrysler Sunbeam, one of the few cars put out by the short-lived Chrysler Europe back in the 1970s and 1980s. Despite being called a Chrysler, the Sunbeam was assembled in the UK, and it was only a matter of time before Lotus got involved.

Sunbeam Lotus on the move
readcars.co

Lotus turned the unremarkable family hatchback into a proper, grumpy performance car with some serious capabilities. They started by sticking their own 2.2 liter engine under the hood, giving the sub-2,000 lb. Sunbeam 150 hp. Various upgrades to the RWD drivetrain meant that it was an absolute blast to drive, but it was also an absolute nightmare to maintain.

5 Vauxhall Chevette HS

Front 3/4 view of the Chevette HS
wsupercars.com

Like the Sunbeam Lotus, the Vauxhall Chevette HS was made in a very similar vain. The standard Chevette was about as meh as it gets, but the HS upped the ante a fair bit. It was also a rally homologation special, and Vauxhall took everything to the extreme.

Rear 3/4 view of the Chevette HS
wsupercars.com

RELATED: This Lemon Caused Vauxhall To Be Driven Out Of North America

Under the hood, Vauxhall somehow managed to squeeze in the relatively massive 2.3 liter slant-4. Thanks to uprated carburetors, this engine made 135 hp, a lot in the 1865 lb Chevette. Like the Sunbeam, the Chevette was also RWD, with power being sent through a Getrag 5-speed manual. It was great fun to drive, but was also a total reliability disaster.

4 Volkswagen Rallye Golf

The Golf G60 Rallye on the dirt
wallpaperup.com

Back in the 1980s, Volkswagen along with Steyr-Daimler-Puch was toying away with the idea of sticking a viscous-coupling AWD system on their Golf hatchback, which would be predominantly FWD and only send power to the rear when it deemed necessary. It was a surprisingly effective system, and VW decided to take the Golf with its new Syncro AWD rallying.

The Golf G60 Rallye in red
pinterest.com

Homologation rules at the time required VW to build the Rallye Golf. Misspelled name aside, the Rallye Golf was saddled with the G60 supercharged 1.8 liter 4-cylinder, making 160 hp. It also had the aforementioned Syncro AWD and those awesome box flares and rectangular headlights. It almost made its way to the US, but the unfortunate death of a VW North America representative axed those plans.

3 Proton Satria GTi

The front of the Satria GTi at night
noequal.co

The 90s was a tough time for British sports carmaker Lotus, changing hands multiple times throughout the decade. Eventually, they were safe in the hands of Malaysian manufacturer Proton for a while. As a result, Proton let the Hethel experts fettle their Satria subcompact, giving us the Satria GTi.

The side of the Satria GTi at night
noequal.co

Under the hood was a 1.8-liter Mitsubishi-sourced four-banger. The engine was essentially pinched from earlier Mitsubishi Evos, but it removed the turbocharger and used a higher compression ratio, resulting in 138 hp. Lotus handled the drivetrain and handling, and the result was a pretty compelling and exclusive hot hatchback.

2 Mazda 323/Familia GT-R

Front 3/4 view of the 323 GTR
reddit.com

In most people's eyes, the Mazda Familia, sold as the 323 in Europe and the Protégé in the US, was an ordinary family car. Not content with this perception, Mazda decided that they needed a slice of the rally homologation special pie as well, a desire that created the 323 GTR.

The rear of the 323 GTR
carthrottle.com

RELATED: Mazda Planning New Vehicles To Save Their Brand

While the US did get a Protégé GTX, it wasn't the same car. The 323/Familia GTR was available as a three-door hatch only, and it looked really cool with all the aero enhancements. As well as the obligatory AWD, the 1.8-liter turbocharged engine made an immense 210 hp. Only about 400 of these were ever built, so it's unlikely you'll see one.

1 Audi A1 Quattro

The front of the Audi A1 Quattro
autoevolution.com

Previewed by a rather wild concept car, the Audi A1 Quattro debuted in 2013. It was the predecessor to the S1, and while that car was a proper production model, the A1 Quattro had an extremely limited run of only 333 units worldwide.

The rear of the Audi A1 Quattro
wsupercars.com

Under the hood was a 2.0 liter TFSI 4-cylinder with an impressive 252 hp and 258 lb/ft of torque. As the name implies, AWD was standard, along with a mandatory 6-speed manual transmission. You could have it in any color you wanted, as long as it was white. Tons of exterior changes were afoot as well, including those amazing turbine wheels.

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