Despite only showcasing the concept version of the Volkswagen ID.2all this past week, the Wolfsburg marque has already confirmed that a performance model is being worked on.
While the production model will eventually replace the Polo in Europe come 2025, the now highly awaited performance variant could well render the Polo GTI obsolete, although it remains to be seen which go-faster moniker is eventually decided on.
GTI or GTX?
At present, the GTI nameplate is solely used on the internal combustion versions of the up!, Polo and Golf, with the GTX nomenclature being applied to the ID range of performance electric models.
The main difference between the GTX and GTI designation though is that the former only applies to all-wheel-drive EVs, which could well result in the latter featuring on an EV first time after Wolfsburg’s Board Member for Technical Development, Kai Grünitz, told Britain’s Top Gear after the ID.2all’s debut, “[the performance model] will only be front-wheel-drive. No all-wheel-drive”.
Adding to the speculation about which name the rapid ID.2all will go underneath, Grünitz merely stated, “whether it will be a GTI or GTX or whatever we will see”.
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More power than GTI
Of bigger speculation is the EV’s final power output. Whereas the ID.2all, in concept guise, produces 166kW and does 0-100km/h in seven seconds, the GTI/GTX could well step on the toes of the Golf 8 GTI by producing more or close to its 180kW/370Nm.
As it stands, the regular ID.2me not only has more grunt than any regular Polo, but 19kW more than the South African-market Polo GTI and 14kW in advance over the the model sold in Europe.
At the same time, the ID.2me is three-tenths-of-a-second slower from 0-100km/h than the 147kW Polo GTI, which could result in the performance variant possibly taking less than six seconds to reach 100km/h from standstill.
While declining to comment on who much grunt the ID.2all GTI/GTX will deliver when it goes into production, Grünitz hinted, “I’ve got a number in mind for the power figure. But this will be a surprise for the next time we see each other”.
Polo here past 2025
As a reminder, the ID.2me hasn’t been confirmed for South Africa just yet as Volkswagen has committed to the Polo and local assembly of it and the Polo Vivo beyond 2025.
