Volkswagen reinvents the hot hatch for the EV age: 300kW VW ID.2 R to get advanced in-wheel powertrain tech!

June 25, 2025June 25, 2025 John Mahoney 9325 Views In-wheel motor, Volkswagen, VW ID.2 R

Volkswagen is well underway developing a wild new hyper hatch to sit above its inbound Volkswagen ID.2 GTI.

It will be equipped with VW’s pioneering new in-wheel motors to ensure it out-drives current petrol-fed sports cars both on road and track.

Hotly tipped to be called the Volkswagen ID 2 R, according to Autocar, the Volkswagen powertrain concept will employ the traditional e-motor from the ID.2 GTI to drive the front wheels with a pair of next-generation electric hub motors powering the rear wheels.

This arrangement means the light-weight compact motors will provide all-wheel drive and be capable of torque vectoring well beyond the German car-maker’s current tech.

The benefit for the ID 2 R – which is based on the ID 2 that launches next year – is all this is achieved without compromising interior space or robbing room from the boot.

To help develop the tech, insiders suggest Volkswagen has recruited an in-hub e-motor specialist in the Balkans that has already developed a high-output in-wheel motor.

As well as the hardware itself, the key to unlocking the unparalleled agility is developing software that predicts torque distribution and then can use both brake-based yaw control and active torque vectoring to artificially alter balance within a corner.

A range of dynamic drive modes, meanwhile, could radically change the balance of the small ID 2 R from a front-biased torque distribution, to a 50:50 even torque split, or provide a wilder rear-biased drift mode.

It could also see the Volkswagen head off the inbound rear-wheel drive Renault 5 Turbo 3E that also has in-hub rear motors.

Forcing engineers to take a less conventional approach to the ID 2 R development is its MEB Plus architecture that, without the in-hub motors, needs extensive modification to make room for a second motor that would then ruin packaging.

While the ID 2 GTI is set to feature a single 213kW e-motor, the ID 2 R should be on track to produce well in excess of 300kW.

With that level of power and weight-saving measures that could include a carbon-fibre roof, the ID 2 R is expected to deliver hyper hatch levels of performance.

Expect a 0-100km/h sprint of comfortably less than 4.0 seconds, although top speed might be limited to around 200km/h.

Emphasising its performance credentials the ID 2 R is primed to boast mini-WRC rally car looks with wider arches, side skirts, a front splitter, a rear spoiler and a large diffuser all deemed necessary to boost stability at high speed.

Not that the new powertrain is all about performance.

Expect the same tech to be employed on the ID.2 SUV to provide it with all-wheel drive when it arrives in 2027.

Timings for the Volkswagen ID 2 R have yet to be confirmed, but it will follow the 2026 ID.2 that arrives next year and the 2027 ID.2 GTI that is expected to land a year later, with the high-performance R almost certain to be on sale a little later in 2028.