► New Volkswagen ID.GTI Concept revealed
► GTI design cues on the ID.2all frame
► VW says an electric GTI is on for 2027
It was going to happen eventually: Volkswagen has revealed the ID.GTI Concept, which uses those most famous of hot hatch three letters and applies them to an electric car. The ‘I’ in the GTI abbreviation, according to VW, will now stand for ‘intelligence,’ as well as the regular ‘injection.’
VW has revealed the ID.GTI Concept ahead of its public debut at the 2023 IAA Munich Motor show, and it’s more than just a hollow concept…
It’s definitely a looker!
The new ID.GTI Concept is based off the ID.2all concept revealed in March 2023, and comes dressed with all of the classic GTI design details. ‘We’re showing what a great future the GTI philosophy has at Volkswagen,’ says VW brand design head, Andreas Mindt. ‘In my opinion, the ID.2all concept is the perfect basis for an electric GTI, and I already had a GTI in mind when I first put pen to paper on that concept.’
So much so that Mindt and his team of designers took only three months to put together this GTI version.
Mindt says that the entire GTI lineage has been an inspiration for this new electric concept car. For example, the quite unique-looking 20-inch wheel designs are based off the original steel wheels from the Mk1 GTI, as is the black and sharply-angled chin spoiler. The C-pillar is heavily inspired by that of the Mk7 Golf GTI, too, with Mindt saying that ‘a strong C-pillar means stability.’
And that, really, is the main order of the day; Mindt and his team were very keen not to ‘do a boy racer car.’ He says that ‘with some hot hatches, you feel very embarrassed while driving them – almost wanting to put a paper bag over your head. When you have a GTI, you don’t feel embarrassed and you don’t need to explain yourself.’ Assured performance and no over-the-top looks are GTI cornerstones, after all.
The show car doesn’t have a proper interior yet, but there are plenty of design sketches and visualisations of how it should look. And, again, they’re based off the ID.2all concept. So the interior is clean and devoid of buttons, as is the usual remit for VW these days, and includes a new-design steering wheel and a huge central infotainment screen similar to what we’re seeing in the new-generation Passat and ID.7.
And, you’ll be pleased to know, the GTI’s classic red and white tartan seat upholstery remains with the new ID.GTI Concept. Even the golf ball shifter *sort of* returns in the shape of a large dial on the centre console that will be used not just as a volume controller, but a drive mode selector.
Does it go fast?
Performance specs aren’t talked about in great detail with the new tartan-flavoured electric hot hatch concept, but the comparative ID.2all uses the small MEB Entry platform that’s due to be rolled out across the VW Group (including on a forthcoming ID.2, as well as the Cupra Raval). For now, VW has only confirmed that the MEB Entry platform can handle up to 223bhp.
With the ID.GTI, no power rating is mentioned but the addition of a differential lock for the driven front wheels is applied here (which VW says is a link to the Golf GTI Clubsport). A software-based vehicle dynamics manager electronically controls the diff, and can even simulate gearshift g-force changes from a number of Golf GTI models including the original from 1976. Which sounds a lot like the ‘shifting’ function you get on the Hyundai Ioniq 5N.
Doesn’t VW have GTX for hot electric cars?
Well, yes it does. But they’re not all that hot, really.
And, as Mindt puts it: ‘GTX was called that because it meant four-wheel drive, while GTI is front-wheel drive. GTX will be used in certain segments, while GTI will just be for hot hatches.’
Will VW actually build an ID GTI?
It will. The ID.GTI concept is a proper preview of a real, forthcoming electric hot hatch from the brand. Volkswagen spokespeople confirmed that a production-spec ID.2 based off the ID.2all concept is on the way in 2026, with a GTI version to follow.
Then, Volkswagen brand CEO, Thomas Schafer, said during a preview of the ID.GTI concept ahead of the IAA Munich show that ‘it’s not just a nice idea, it has been decided already that it will come into production in 2026 – we will show it as a production car in 2026 and probably launch it in 2027.’
Sign us up.