It would help to grow the brand’s new high-performance EVs.
Volkswagen unveiled its first high-performance electric car yesterday, the ID.4 GTX. It’s only the beginning of a possible lineup of performance EVs. According to Auto Express, Klaus Zellmer (company’s board member responsible for sales, marketing and after-sales), Klaus Zellmer stated that there may be an ID.3 GTX offering the brand a hot-hatch option.
Zellmer said that the company was “looking into it,” but quickly stated that they hadn’t yet made a decision about whether to offer such a model. The company confirmed that there will be additional GTX models for the new ID. The rumors of a hotter ID.3 stem back to a June report which stated that the company was planning to approve an electric hot hatch, due to debut in 2024. The ID.3 R was being considered as a possible name at the time.
The standard ID.3 has a rear-mounted motor which produces 204 horsepower (150 Kilowatts) as well as 229 pound-feet (311 Newton-meters). This is almost identical to the regular ID.4’s output. It also has a rear mounted motor. The dual-motor setup of the ID.4 GTX powers both the front and back axles. The compact ID.3 packaging may not allow for such a configuration. The ID.4 GTX has 295 horsepower (295 kW), and can run at 62 miles an hour (100 km per hour) in just 6.2 seconds.
The GTX Line is Now a Reality
VW had ambitious plans for its electrification efforts. VW Group promised to launch 75 electric cars by 2025. The company must build its brand and a high-performance electric vehicle marquee can help it do so. Aspirational brand for consumers, the GTX brand could serve as a model. It has just announced the ID.4 GTX, and confirmed the ID.5 GTX. It makes sense to expand it to include the ID.3 considering VW’s success in the Golf GTI.