- Volkswagen is planning several GTI-badged hot EVs.
- These cars were described as "mind-blowing" and "monsters" by VW CEO Thomas Schäfer.
- The first electric VW GTI could arrive in 2026.
We’ve known about Volkswagen’s plan to make fun-to-drive electric GTI hot hatches, but it seems the manufacturer’s plan extends beyond making hot variants of the ID.2 (Polo equivalent) and next-gen electric Golf. And they should stay mostly front-wheel-drive.
As Alpine has shown with the A290, the spiced-up version of the Renault 5, you can make an enjoyable front-wheel-drive EV. So we’re eager to see what VW is cooking up.
VW CEO Thomas Schäfer told Autocar that the carmaker is preparing “a whole group of GTI” models that will be “mind-blowing.” He has already driven a prototype GTI EV, which he called “a monster car,” which aligns with what another VW exec said about his prototype experience, who described the car as “a real go-kart.”
However, none of these electric GTIs will have too much power, likely under 300 hp (probably closer to 250 hp), but that shouldn’t affect them too much. One of the most fun EVs ever is the first-generation electric Mini Cooper, which had just 180 hp but was an absolute hoot to throw around. Now, the Alpina A290 is the new electric hot hatch kid on the block, and it does a lot with just 220 hp.
When giving a front-wheel-drive car a lot of power, you risk overpowering the front tires, which have a lot to deal with: putting the power down, steering and braking. You can also get severe torque steer in powerful FWD cars, and VW, being a sensible manufacturer of people's cars at heart, will likely not go overboard with power.
The real news here is that VW has plans for more than just two GTI-badged EVs. We don’t know what they could be since the GTI moniker has been exclusively used on the tailgate of hatchbacks, but maybe the manufacturer will now expand its use to models with other body styles.
All GTIs have been front-wheel-drive cars, and it will be interesting to see if VW makes rear-wheel-drive ones too. We know the production version of the ID.2 (and its GTI derivative) will be built on the lite version of the MEB platform, which is exclusively front-wheel drive. However, the electric Golf, which is expected to arrive around the end of the decade, will be built on the SSP architecture, which replaces the rear-wheel-drive MEB used in VW’s current crop of ID models.
Just like MEB, SSP is highly modular and can be used in a wide range of vehicles, and it’s also simpler and more cost-effective for the manufacturer. It’s also meant to replace the larger PPE architecture used to underpin models like the new Porsche Macan EV and the Audi Q6 E-Tron, so it will likely be rear-wheel drive. VW could make a front-wheel-drive-lite version of SSP down the line, but there’s no information about it yet.
Next year, VW should debut the production version of the ID.2 concept, which won’t have “ID” in its name. We don’t know if the GTI will be revealed alongside, but the timing would make sense since 2026 is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the original Golf GTI.
The electric Golf is expected around 2029, when it will replace the ID.3, which will receive a major overhaul (to give it more of a traditional VW design) and likely remain in production until 2028.
