VW’s Next Golf GTI Will Change Everything
- Underpinning the all-electric hot hatch will be the new SSP architecture.
- The electric model could pack more horsepower than the current ICE Golf GTI.
- VW is also working on an all-electric version of the all-wheel-drive Golf R.
The VW Golf GTI has earned its place as one of the most iconic hot hatches in history, but even this legend isn’t immune to the electric revolution. Just after Volkswagen announced it’s working on an ID.3 GTI, company boss Thomas Schafer confirmed that an electric Golf GTI will be hitting the market towards the end of the decade.
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The new electric Golf will be built on VW’s SSP platform, but it’s still a while off because the current combustion Golf will stick around until at least the end of the decade. Even though the electric GTI is years away from production, development is already well underway. Schafer is adamant it will stay true to the GTI spirit, maintaining that front-wheel drive layout fans know and love.
Read: VW Is Making A New GTI, But Not The One We Want
“At the end of the decade we will bring an electric Golf [GTI], and that will be a monster car,” he told Auto Express. “I’m very happy with the progress. It’s cool. You can make it exciting, it has to be exciting, it has to be authentic. If we bring a GTI, it has to be a [true] GTI.”
While VW hasn’t yet built a physical prototype of the electric Golf GTI, the car’s dimensions and basic platform are already locked in, though, as Schafer pointed out, the final design isn’t fully set yet. “We have many iteration steps to get through,” he added, likely referencing the challenges of perfecting this new chapter of the GTI legacy.
A FWD Beast
Like all previous Golf GTI models before it, the new one will funnel its power exclusively through the front wheels, despite the current ID.3 GTX and future ID.3 GTX being sold as rear-wheel drive hatches. Fighting to put immense power to the ground without loads of torque steer in a front-wheel drive car can be difficult, but it’s possible the Golf GTI could match the 322 hp of the ID.3 version, which itself is roughly the same as the all-wheel drive Golf R. Some trick software systems to control this power at the front end efficiently will be a necessity.
And it won’t just be the GTI going electric. Schafer confirmed that an all-electric Golf R is also in the works. This will retain the all-wheel drive layout of the current model, meaning more power, better performance, and a continuation of the high-performance Golf formula we know and love. So, the electric future of the Golf lineup? It’s coming, and it’s definitely not going to be a boring ride.
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