VW ID GTI Concept Teases Future Hot Hatch
The GTI gains its EV mojo with the ID2-based GTI concept, and it looks great. No confirmation of performance or price at this point
4/9/23
A new concept has escaped the bowels of Volkswagen's ID department but this one is much more RUSH. It's a chunky, 4 square hatchback that has all the attitude a hot hatch needs. The ID GTI is based on the forthcoming baby ID 2 model that VW plans to introduce in the next few years. But unlike the regular run-of-the-mill car, the GTI version gets the all right bits.
First of all, there's the promise of the rather special electronic locking differential taken from the existing Golf GTI, which should make for an engaging drive when combined with the instant torque delivery of an EV. There will be the usual suite of multiple driving modes and even a dynamic sound experience where you can choose your favourite GTI soundtrack to synthetically inject into your ID 2. Sounds a bit naff but we reckon it could be good fun, especially as it simulates shift points to avoid that CVT-like drone you would otherwise get.
Other features include some radical styling that to our eyes is a mixture of all the right bits of the GTI lineage with none of the bad stuff. I'm spotting a set of wheels that pay tribute to the original GTIs P-Slots, a body kit with hints of GTI Clubsport S and they've even given the drive select knob a golf ball finish. They might be little things but it shows VW really cares about the VW badge.
Thomas Schäfer (CEO of the Volkswagen brand) has said that VW’s goal is “to transport the GTI DNA into the electric age”. We hope means that we’ll get a wheel cocking, Jekyll and Hyde hatchback that is as easy to live with as it is fun - could this be the first hot hatch of the EV sector to achieve this? Who knows, but for now it looks pretty promising.
We'll have to wait a few years to see a production variant but VW have promised that the ID 2 GTI is part of their electric strategy and that it will form a base for future VW GTI models. We can’t wait to have a go.
A new concept has escaped the bowels of Volkswagen's ID department but this one is much more RUSH. It's a chunky, 4 square hatchback that has all the attitude a hot hatch needs. The ID GTI is based on the forthcoming baby ID 2 model that VW plans to introduce in the next few years. But unlike the regular run-of-the-mill car, the GTI version gets the all right bits.
First of all, there's the promise of the rather special electronic locking differential taken from the existing Golf GTI, which should make for an engaging drive when combined with the instant torque delivery of an EV. There will be the usual suite of multiple driving modes and even a dynamic sound experience where you can choose your favourite GTI soundtrack to synthetically inject into your ID 2. Sounds a bit naff but we reckon it could be good fun, especially as it simulates shift points to avoid that CVT-like drone you would otherwise get.
Other features include some radical styling that to our eyes is a mixture of all the right bits of the GTI lineage with none of the bad stuff. I'm spotting a set of wheels that pay tribute to the original GTIs P-Slots, a body kit with hints of GTI Clubsport S and they've even given the drive select knob a golf ball finish. They might be little things but it shows VW really cares about the VW badge.
Thomas Schäfer (CEO of the Volkswagen brand) has said that VW’s goal is “to transport the GTI DNA into the electric age”. We hope means that we’ll get a wheel cocking, Jekyll and Hyde hatchback that is as easy to live with as it is fun - could this be the first hot hatch of the EV sector to achieve this? Who knows, but for now it looks pretty promising.
We'll have to wait a few years to see a production variant but VW have promised that the ID 2 GTI is part of their electric strategy and that it will form a base for future VW GTI models. We can’t wait to have a go.
