Volkswagen has officially acknowledged that the next-generation Golf hatchback is imminent, showing a camouflaged prototype of the redesigned model.

The eighth-generation Golf, known as the Mark 8, will make its European debut later this year.

New Golf models won't arrive in the U.S. until sometime in 2020, and they may be restricted to GTI and Golf R variants on our shores.

We've been talking about the next-generation Volkswagen Golf for some time now, and we're finally getting close to its official debut. VW has confirmed that the Mark 8 Golf hatchback's debut will take place later this fall and released a photo of the new hatchback in prototype form obscured by some tricky camouflage.

This photo confirms what we've seen in earlier spy shots of the new Golf: an evolutionary shape with a slightly wider stance and sleeker design details including more streamlined headlights. Some bigger changes may be coming to the Golf lineup in the U.S., however; the company has only confirmed that the next-generation Golf GTI and Golf R hot hatches will be sold in America, while the Sportwagen and Alltrack wagon variants will be dropped and the base hatch is still "under consideration."

The Golf won't be part of Volkswagen's plan for the Frankfurt auto show in September, as the company is using that event to focus on the new ID.3 and its broader family of electric vehicles. Instead, the new Golf will be shown separately at some point later this fall, likely in October. Then the wait will begin for the new Golf models to arrive in the U.S., which we hear won't happen until sometime later in the 2020 calendar year, meaning they will carry 2021 model designations on our shores. Look for more details to come.

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