The Volkswagen brand is giving its electric offensive an additional boost: by 2027, Europe’s largest automotive manufacturer will launch eleven new all-electric models and thus offer the widest electric vehicle range of all manufacturers – from a compact car priced as less than 25,000 euros through to a family saloon. In the future, there will also be sporty and emotive GTI versions of selected models from the all-electric ID. family.
The ID. GTI Concept show car presented for the first time at the IAA Mobility in Munich provides a concrete insight into how Volkswagen will transport the iconic GTI label into the electric future. At the international motor show, the new orientation of the brand will be visible in all areas for the first time.
There is a new, powerful GTI feeling in the way the first electric GTI unleashes its dynamic capabilities. This is because the maximum power and maximum torque are available with the lightning-fast speed typical of electric vehicles. The worlds of the electric ID. GTI Concept and turbocharged Golf GTI meet up when it comes to power transmission to the front axle. This is because a front-axle differential lock – electronically controlled by a Vehicle Dynamics Manager – is used just like in the current generation of the sports car icon.
The Golf GTI and Golf GTI Clubsport were the first Volkswagen models with this traction control system. With the ID. GTI Concept, an electric Volkswagen now has this intelligent system on board for the first time. Following on from this, the letter “I” for injection in the GTI name now also stands for intelligence – in the form of high-performance drive and chassis intelligence.
With the ID. GTI Concept, Volkswagen is presenting a new evolutionary stage of these electronically networked driving dynamics systems. Here, the Vehicle Dynamics Manager of the ID. GTI Concept integrates the powertrain into the control system to an even greater extent than on the petrol models. This is possible because the set-up of the electric drive motor, as an electric system, can be varied almost infinitely. This permits realisation of a wide range of different GTI profiles.
Using a newly developed GTI Experience Control on the centre console, the driver can choose which characteristics the powertrain of the ID. GTI Concept should have. For the first time, it is therefore possible to adjust the drive system, running gear, steering, sound experience and even the simulated shift points in the style of one of the historical GTI models – such as the Golf GTI I from 1976, the first Golf GTI II 16V from 1986 or the legendary Golf GTI IV ‘25 years of GTI’ from 2001. This makes the ID. GTI Concept a highly dynamic time machine.
Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, sums up the fascination of GTI cars: “The perfect combination of driving pleasure and everyday usability – that is what the three letters GTI have meant for decades. With the ID. GTI Concept, we are transporting the GTI DNA into the electric age. It remains sporty, iconic, technologically progressive and accessible, but now has a new interpretation for tomorrow’s world: electric, fully connected and extremely emotive. Here, driving pleasure and sustainability are a perfect match. This means GTI has a future – for our brand and for the fans. Production has already been decided as part of our electric offensive. A Volkswagen sports car for the electric age that is suitable for everyday driving: 100 per cent electric – 100 per cent emotion.”
Andreas Mindt has been Head of Design of the Volkswagen brand since 2023. Before his time as Chief Designer at Bentley and Head of Exterior Design at Audi, he had already been one of the groundbreaking designers at Volkswagen and created best-selling models such as the first Tiguan and the seventh-generation Golf. “With the ID. GTI Concept, we are showing what a great future the GTI philosophy has at Volkswagen,” says Mindt. “In my opinion, the powerful ID. 2all is the perfect basis for an electric GTI. I already had the GTI in mind when I first put pen to paper for the ID. 2all. It is now becoming reality and allowing us to project the GTI idea into the new age of electric mobility.”
