Volkswagen ID.GTI debuts in 2026, on sale in 2027
The battery-electric Volkswagen ID.GTI is three years away. We’re talking about the hot hatch that will be based on the coming ID.2all supermini said to arrive in 2025, the automaker targeting a price around 25,000 euros ($27,544 U.S.). Andreas Mindt, VW’s head of design, posted a sketch of the ID.GTI alongside the vintage GTI with the caption, “The Golf GTI was first unveiled at the 1975 Frankfurt Motor Show with a production run of 5000 units. To date, we have sold more than 2.8 million. In 2026, we will introduce an electric version of this iconic model.” That’s likely for a debut, however. As for when it goes on the market, brand CEO Thomas Schäfer told Autocar the ID.GTI won’t come to market until early 2027, roughly priced somewhere around 30,000 euros ($33,029 U.S.).
VW hasn’t said a word about U.S. availability. The specs aren’t far off something we could see coming this way, and better than some new offerings in the market now or soon. The concept’s length of 160.4 inches and wheelbase of 100.7 are virtually identical to the VW Polo GTI sold in Europe and elsewhere — but never sold here — although it’s actually 1.4 inches taller than the Golf-based GTI sold here. Cargo space is similarly a little smaller than the Golf GTI at 17.3 cubic-feet versus 19.9. There’s a little more space overall, perhaps due to its greater height, at 47 cubic feet with the back seat folded. The VW R&D team is already behind the wheel of a drivable prototype, team lead Kai Grunitz telling Autocar the prototype is a tiny bit smaller than the show car. If the prototype were 160 inches long, that’s 8.8 inches shorter than a 2023 VW GTI, 3.2 inches shorter than a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt. On the other hand, that’s 15 inches longer than the 2024 Fiat 500e.
As for range, the standard ID.2all is expected to offer two batteries of either 38 kWh or 56 kWh, the larger one returning a predicted range of 280 miles on Europe’s WLTP cycle. Let’s say that’s 240 miles in the U.S., a distance we’d expect to some thanks to the ID.GTI’s more powerful motors. That could put the ID.GTI a few dozen clicks down on the Bolt’s 259 miles, but still beyond the 149-mile range of the 500e and the base Nissan Leaf S. The ID.GTI is sounding more like a foil for the coming 2025 Mini Cooper SE John Cooper Works, which is rated at 250 miles of range from its 54.2-kWh battery on the European cycle, could land in the mid-$30,000s for MSRP, and would also be roughly 12 inches shorter than the ID.GTI. So it’s anyone’s guess as to whether VW will bring it here, but we know VW USA wants it.
The few details we have on it predict more than the 223 hp in the ID2.all, front-wheel-drive only, a locking front differential, a “GTI Experience Control” mode selector shaped like a golf ball between the seats and able to tweak steering and throttle responses as well as manufactured sounds, and wireless charging pads that feature magnetic locking.
If none of this tantalizes you, the Golf is making the electric transition, too. Although it might lose its rights to the GTI name, we know VW has plans for tuning. The R division’s been dreaming up all-electric scenarios for a while now, and the GTX nameplate is reserved for all-wheel-drive performance trims, a perfect way for the Golf to differentiate itself.
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