GTX is the future of hot VWs
Volkswagen has introduced the first member of its new electric performance family, the ID.4 GTX. Damien O’Carroll reports.
Volkswagen has revealed its first fully electric highperformance model, the ID.4 GTX, with a ‘‘digital reveal’’ held at the Berlin Tempelhof Airport in Germany. The ID.4 GTX is the first model based on Volkswagen’s MEB modular electric platform to feature dual motors and all-wheeldrive and will top the ID.4 electric SUV range.
The ID.4 GTX’s dual motors – one on the front axle, one on the rear axle – deliver a maximum electrical output of 220kW and work together as an electric allwheel-drive system, a first for the ID. family, but far from uncommon in EVs.
Thanks to the dual-motor allwheel-drive and 220kW of power, the GTX will scamper from a standstill to 100kmh in 6.2 seconds. Not exactly Tesla Plaid territory, but pretty brisk for what is essentially an electric Tiguan GTI.
The all-wheel-drive system’s computer determines how to use the available torque to balance ‘‘efficiency, dynamic performance and stability’’. The default sends the power to the rear axle, and the front motor is used only when increased traction and performance are required.
‘‘Electric driving is simply great fun and with the ID.4 GTX we are adding a new dimension of sportiness and dynamics,’’ said Ralf Brandstatter, chief executive of the Volkswagen Brand.
‘‘The most emotional member of the ID family to date shows that electric mobility and top sporty performance are not mutually exclusive.’’
The GTX packs the largest battery available for the ID.4, a 24-cell 77kWh lithium-ion battery, which weighs 486kg and offers a range of up to 480km.
Volkswagen says the design of the ID.4 GTX ‘‘underscores its extraordinary character, combining driving fun with a robust look’’. Which basically means it’s an ID.4 with some Golf GTI styling cues thrown in.
On the outside, the front ‘‘light strip’’ now has three honeycomb elements that form the daytime running lights, as well as newly designed bumpers and a 3D LED tail light cluster with brake lights that form an X down the back. The body colour is ‘‘more dominant’’ than on the rear-wheel-drive models. The roof and rear spoiler are black, and the roof frame bar is a high-gloss anthracite.
The interior also boasts a new colour scheme and the GTX logo appears on the steering wheel, sill panel trims, and – in perforated form – at the top of the front seat backrests.
The company has said that the GTX brand will essentially be the equivalent of GTI on ICE models going forward.
While the GTI line is based around the Golf, Volkswagen says it chose to use the ID.4 for the first GTX model because of the growing importance of the SUV market and the decision to use a twin-motor powertrain, which the smaller ID.3 reportedly can’t fit, although, oddly, Volkswagen’s R division is said to be working on a range of higher-performance models which, current rumour suggests, could well include an ID.3 R.
Volkswagen has set itself the target of increasing the proportion of sales of purely electric vehicles in Europe to 70 per cent by 2030 and intends to become climate-neutral by 2050, investing around
€16 billion (NZ$26.84b) in electric mobility, hybridisation and digitalisation by 2025.
The ID.4 GTX goes on sale in Europe later this year, but we won’t see it here for a while yet. Volkswagen New Zealand doesn’t expect to see the ID.4 here until
2023 at the earliest.
‘‘The most emotional member of the ID family to date shows that electric mobility and top sporty performance are not mutually exclusive.’’ Ralf Brandstatter
Volkswagen Brand chief executive