GTI-beating ID 3 R is ‘a priority’. Volkswagen R&D chief says a high-performance ID 3 R is less than five years away.
An R version of the electric Volkswagen ID 3 will arrive with four-wheel drive and performance e-motors within the next five years, promising better acceleration than the current Golf GTI.
VW sales boss Jürgen Stackmann said: “If there is a future for R, it must be electric. It’s very simple. It won’t be next year, because we need to define what R is in the electric world.” In the interim, VW will make a foray into electrified performance with a plugin hybrid Touareg R, said Stackmann.
“Clearly, R means high-output combustion engine and that will now move to higher-output plug-in hybrid systems and then it will move onwards to R electric. We need to get firm on our electric vision fast.” Talking about an ID 3 R, Stackmann said the solution must address range and performance.
If there is a future for R, it must be electric. It’s very simple.
“Today, if you look at high performance and electric, it’s actually a huge compromise and you pay the penalty with a small range.”
VW R&D chief Frank Welsch said a performance ID 3 was one of his top priorities. “We should have the same as cars such as the Golf, the GTI and R. People like performance and I’m sure people will love performance in ID cars, too.” He added: “The situation is different. Even in the normal ID, we have good performance right from the beginning. You just touch the pedal and you feel the punch. From 0-60km is like the GTI. No GTI is faster than the ID 3. At the upper end, of course, GTI is better.” Talking about requirements for an ID 3 R, he said: “We need four-wheel drive and a performance e-motor. It won’t be called GTI. Let’s see whether it’s R or something else. “In under five years is okay. We have a lot of other work to do with other ID models and the Golf, Tiguan and so on before then.”
