The future Golf GTI reveals itself

Volkswagen unveiled the ID. GTI concept at the IAA Show in Munich. The future of the legendary German hot hatch is now electric.

Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1975, the very first Golf GTI offered 110 horsepower thanks to a 1.6-liter injection engine, with a lightweight weight of 846 kg. A revolution that would sell over 450,000 units, and enjoy a long and distinguished lineage. Today, it has become a sought-after collector’s item for brand enthusiasts and nostalgic fans of a time when the driver’s heart was linked to the combustion engine only by a pedal and a metal cable.

Volkswagen has therefore chosen to electrify its sporty icon, maintaining, in its words, the “i” of injection to turn it into intelligence. A heavy legacy since GTI has been the badge of Volkswagen’s compact sports cars for decades. Sure, over the years they became heavier and more refined, but they retained that little extra soul that kept the magical name from being tarnished. Almost 48 years to the day after the global debut of the first Golf GTI at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the ID. GTI concept, based on the ID. 2all, carries the heavy task of preserving the heritage. Its base price is expected to be around 25,000 euros according to the German brand, and it retains the front-wheel-drive architecture and the characteristic athletic lines of the GTI. A revolution in gentleness to avoid alienating a very loyal customer base. The question of the powertrain remains… It will be 100% electric and 100% emotional, but we will have to wait a little longer to know all the technical details, as its commercialization is already planned, but it will only hit the roads in 2027.

Compact at 4,104 mm long, the ID. GTI features a generous wheelbase of 2,600 mm and extremely short overhangs to stay true to the original’s philosophy of being lively, dynamic, and above all, highly fun. It measures 1,499 mm tall and 1,840 mm wide.

The three-spoke steering wheel of the ID. GTI concept is equipped with a very low-positioned airbag to evoke the spirit of the foam crash absorber, ancestor of the Airbag, from the Golf GTI I. The sport seats of the ID. GTI concept are, of course, covered in a reinterpreted plaid pattern. The fabric is called “Jack-e,” a nod to the “Jacky” of the Golf GTI VI. And the golf ball-shaped gear lever? Skilled designers equipped the concept car with a “GTI experience control” multifunction on the center console in the shape of a golf ball.

Final salute to history, in vintage mode, the digital dashboard (27.7 cm / 10.9 inches) located in front of the driver transforms into gauges reminiscent of the Golf GTI I series 2, like those used on the legendary “GTI Pirelli,” or, for purists, into the dashboard of a “Golf GTI I”.

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