Volkswagen unveils ID.X: a hot hatch for the EV age

Volkswagen has unveiled the ID.X concept, underlining it intends to continue developing hot hatches in the battery electric vehicle age.

Based on the ID.3 small BEV, the ID.X concept is claimed to hit 100km/h from rest in just 5.3 seconds and even incorporates a drift mode like the current Volkswagen Golf R fossil-fuel hot hatch.

Unveiled on the Linkedin account of Volkswagen brand CEO Ralf Brandstatter (pictured above), the ID.X borrows heavily from the GTX version of the ID.4 SUV and is developed by the same team.

“We just introduced the ID.4 GTX,” Brandstatter wrote. “Our first electric performance model is very well received. Even with our engineers – because with it they have discovered the fun of developing high-performance electric cars. And so we just let them do it.”

The ID.X is the first ID.3 to get all-wheel drive – the rest are rear-wheel drive – and it has enough eMotor power to develop 245kW (25kW more than the ID.4 GTX), while its battery pack is VW’s 77kWh lithium-ion unit.

VW engineers have also manage to hack 200kg in kerb weight out of the ID.X, which no doubt helps both acceleration and range (the latter unstated by Brandstatter).

It’s not just the technical stuff that’s been upgraded either. The design team has had a crack at the ID.X’s exterior and interior while infotainment specs have also been upgraded.

Sadly, at this stage there is no plan to turn the ID.X into a production car, although Brandstatter says it will act as an inspiration for future models.

Of course, VW offers the iconic Golf GTI as its mainstay hot hatch in the ICE world, as well as the more expensive all-wheel drive R.

Based on that heritage, something along the lines of the ID.X will surely be coming to production in the not too distant future.