Electric Volkswagen ID. GTI hot hatch gets the green light for 2026 launch
Volkswagen’s design boss Andreas Mindt has undone months, if not years, of choreographed marketing and PR by using his Instagram to announce the production version of the electric Volkswagen ID. GTI Concept has been signed off for production and will be on sale by 2026.
Revealed back in September this year at the Munich motor show, the ID.2-based hot hatch was said to be ’93 per cent production-ready’ but none of the execs available would dare confirm when we’d see the real Volkswagen ID. GTI. Until now.
In his Instagram post, the senior designer charted the success of the iconic GTI badge, explaining how the original Golf GTI was introduced as far back as 1975 before going on to announce that: “In 2026, we will introduce an electric version of this iconic model,” Mindt wrote.
READ MORE: Baby Volkswagen ID.2-based SUV teased for the first time, set for 450km and sub-$50k pricetag
READ MORE: Volkswagen ID.2all concept previews sub-$40,000 electric hatchback for 2025
Accompanying the post was a design sketch comparing the original mark 1 Golf GTI alongside the ID. GTI Concept, showing the how similar in size and proportions both cars are.
Following the warm reception the concept received, it’s thought Mindt will be reluctant to tone down any of the show car’s styling for the real thing.
Sadly, some changes will inevitably be made on cost grounds.
We expect the 2026 ID.2 GTI to ride on downsized versions of the concept’s large 20-inch alloy wheels and for the wider front fenders to be dropped. In their place the hot GTI should get flared plastic wheel-arches to emphasise its wider track.
The good news is the concept’s three-door look and hidden rear door handles will carry over, as well as its jutting-out front splitter and a rear C-pillar that looks lifted from the original. Even the alloy wheels, that were modelled on the original’s steel wheels, should make it to production.
Under the skin, it’s already been confirmed the incoming ID.2 GTI will be based on the MEB-Small front-drive platform. All-wheel drive will not be an option.
Insiders in Munich also ruled out a hotter ‘R’ version as in the future the performance sub-brand will become synonymous for its all-wheel drive.
Sharing components with the incoming production version of the Cupra Raval, the production version of the ID.2 GTI will either come with a punchy 166kW front-mounted motor or a mightier still 250kW electric motor that will be capable of 320kW on over-boost.
If the reborn GTI gets the latter, the fast ID.2 should be capable of a 0-100km/h dash of around 3.2 seconds.
There’s still no word on what battery the ID.2 GTI will pack but when it arrives the VW hot hatch should be capable of achieving around 400km on a single charge.
With a reveal set to take place in 2025, production will begin at the same Barcelona-based SEAT-owned factory production line as the Raval and an as yet un-named small electric Skoda, ahead of deliveries beginning in 2026.
Already under consideration for the Australian market, the base ID.2 is expected to sell here for around $40,000, with the GTI version expected to carry a premium of at least $10,000.
