Volkswagen introduces the ID.GTI at IAA Munich

GTI – for decades now, this name has stood for compact sports cars from Volkswagen. Golf GTI, Scirocco GTi, Polo GTI, up! GTI. Icons. Volkswagen is now catapulting GTI DNA into the age of electric mobility with the new ID. GTI Concept. The world premiere of this electrifying concept vehicle will take place during this year’s IAA Mobility in Munich (5 to 9 September 2023) – exactly 48 years after the worldwide debut of the first Golf GTI at the IAA in Frankfurt. The ID. GTI Concept is based on the ID. 2all presented in March – a future electric compact car that costs around 25,000 euros and which has generated worldwide attention. Its front-wheel drive, clear design and powerful proportions make it the perfect starting point for a new GTI. Volkswagen Head of Design Andreas Mindt already also had the sporty derivative in mind when he produced the first sketches for the ID. 2all. And just like the ID. 2all, the ID. GTI Concept

is more than just a show car – it is the first glimpse of the exciting GTI future because its series development has already been decided.

GTI performance

Superior GTI power. 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.

GTI fascination. 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.”

GTI future. 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.”