VW to launch electrical GTI in 2026

Volkswagen is getting ready to launch an electrical scorching hatch sporting the GTI badge in 2026, design chief Andreas Mindt has revealed.

In an Instagram publish made earlier this week, and first noticed by Motor1, Mindt mentioned the primary GTI, based mostly on the Mk1 Golf, was launched in 1975, and that in 2026 an electrical model of the long-lasting hatch can be launched.

It is doable the automobile can be proven a yr earlier to mark the unique Golf GTI’s fiftieth anniversary.

Included in Mindt’s publish was a sketch displaying the unique Golf GTI along with VW’s ID.GTI idea unveiled in September and already confirmed by VW for manufacturing.

The ID.GTI idea is not more likely to be badged as a Golf GTI in manufacturing type, although. The idea’s subcompact dimensions level to it previewing a substitute for the Polo GTI, simply because the associated ID.2all idea proven in March probably previews a substitute for the common Polo.

VW in September mentioned it’s planning an electrical Golf, and this mannequin will probably supply a GTI variant, although the electrical Golf will not arrive till 2028 on the earliest, as that’s when its SSP platform is scheduled to be prepared.

Check mules for the manufacturing ID.2all utilizing modified our bodies of the bigger ID.3 have been noticed testing. The car, and certain any GTI model, will use a brand new platform derived from the present MEB design present in autos just like the ID.3 and ID.4. The brand new platform, dubbed MEB Entry, is shorter than the common MEB platform and contains a single motor on the entrance.

Volkswagen ID.GTI Idea

Within the ID.2all, the motor is rated at 222 hp, and the idea’s battery is claimed by VW to ship 280 miles on the WLTP check cycle used abroad. A decrease determine would outcome utilizing the stricter EPA cycle. VW hasn’t supplied any specs for the associated ID.GTI idea however mentioned it additionally featured a single motor on the entrance.

Crossover followers may also stay up for an MEB Entry-based providing from VW in 2026.

Paradoxically, the I in GTI signifies gasoline injection, a expertise that clearly will not function within the electrical GTI. Equally, Porsche makes use of a Turbo badge on its Taycan, a reputation that additionally signifies a expertise for ICE autos and never EVs.