VW is probably planning an electric Golf GTI

Volkswagen apparently wants to extend the GTI performance label to several model series in the electric age. According to a report, the GTI version of the ID.2 will be the first - but the electric Golf planned for the end of the decade is also expected to receive a GTI variant.

In its statements on the “whole group” of electric GTI models, the British magazine Autocar refers to none other than VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer – in the same interview, Schäfer had already confirmed the further development of the MEB into the MEB+. In 2024, there had been rumours that the Wolfsburg-based company had questioned the expenditure for the MEB+.

After the series version of the ID. GTI Concept based on the upcoming ID.2, a GTI version of the electric Golf, is also set to follow towards the end of this decade. “First of all: can you make an electric Golf exciting? Absolutely,” Schäfer is quoted as saying. “We have driven a few prototypes that we have built on the new set-up and it is mind-blowing.”

So the development of the electric GTI models is already in full swing. Schäfer clarifies the much-used marketing phrase that the new vehicles should “remain true to the characteristics of every GTI model that has gone before” by focussing on the driving experience of the cars: “What about the sound? What about the total feel? The handling and so on can be done.”

Until now, VW has referred to its sportiest electric models as GTXs because, with the exception of the ID.3 GTX, they have electric all-wheel drive. With the second electric motor on the front axle, the GTX models offer more power than the MEB models with rear-wheel drive. The GTX models are also based on the familiar GTI design language in terms of visual details, with red trim elements. However, the modifications to the chassis and driving feel of the GTX models are rather minor compared to the base vehicles, apart from the additional power. According to Schäfer, this will be different for electric GTI models in the future.

The ID.2 GTI should give a first impression of this. However, Schäfer has not yet mentioned any possible technical data or specific examples of the different driving experience; even the final data for the standard ID.2 is not yet known. There is also no more precise information on the electric Golf GTI, not even a première year. The electric Golf 9, based on the SSP, is due to arrive “by the end of the decade,” as Schäfer confirmed. However, it has always taken a while for the previous combustion engine models before the sporty top version was presented. An electric Golf GTI could therefore not come onto the market until 2030 or later.

However, Schäfer is already setting the bar high for the model: his experience with the prototypes suggests that the next GTI will be “a monster car.”

autocar.co.uk