Volkswagen ID. GTI Concept based on the ID. 2all is showcased at IAA Mobility 2023

By 2027, Volkswagen – Europe’s largest automotive manufacturer – will launch eleven new all-electric models and thus offer the most comprehensive electric vehicle range of all manufacturers – from a compact car priced at less than 25,000 euros to a family saloon.

The ID. GTI Concept show car presented for the first time at the IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich provides a concrete insight into how Volkswagen will transport the iconic GTI label into the electric future. The production version of the vehicle based on the modular electric drive (MEB) platform is scheduled to hit the roads in 2027.

The ID. GTI Concept is based on the ID. 2all presented in March – a future electric compact car that costs around 25,000 euros and which has generated worldwide attention. Its front-wheel drive, clear design, and powerful proportions make it the perfect starting point for a new GTI. Like the original GTI, the ID. GTI Concept follows the principle of the design and technology of an affordable large-series model. This includes clear and powerful proportions and the visual stability of a body standing confidently on its wheels. The ID. 2all has this potential, which is why the ID. GTI Concept derived from it has dynamic characteristics that are otherwise found in completely different price classes.

In figures, this can be transferred to the ID. GTI Concept as follows: a compact 4,104 mm long, a large wheelbase of 2,600 mm, framed by large 20-inch alloy wheels with 245/35 performance tyres and accompanied by very short body overhangs. The GTI is 1,499 mm high and 1,840 mm wide. The two set up ID. GTI Concept vehicles are incidentally finished in Diamond Silver Metallic and Mars Red, both colours from the first-generation Golf GTI.

At the front, the GTI concept vehicle has the most significant nd well-known exterior feature of a GTI: the red surround of the radiator grille, which is almost completely closed in this case. The red line is narrow but nevertheless striking. At the front of the ID. GTI Concept, it spans the entire width of the concept vehicle below the IQ.LIGHT LED matrix headlights. The GTI logo in red letters is integrated in the line on the right. The headlights themselves are framed by a horizontal LED bar. A matrix module is incorporated in each headlight. The Volkswagen badge is illuminated in white.

The design of the GTI bumper is inspired by motor sports and is unique to this model. It features a dominant black front splitter in the middle. Above this is the air intake with the honeycomb structure typical for a GTI (since the fifth generation). In the outer area of the grille there are two red towing eyes like those used in motor sports. At the sides, the designers have incorporated vertical LED daytime running lights in the black-framed air curtains of the front bumper. The air curtains route the air flow to the wheel housings and then outwards in a targeted manner in order to optimise the aerodynamic performance and cool the brakes. The low front splitter and vertical LED daytime running lights make the concept vehicle appear to hug the road. At the front, the future and past meet up once more because the matt-black area around the splitter and air intake evokes the low spoiler and bumper of the Golf GTI I – both were finished in matt black.

The C-pillar is the typical distinguishing feature of the ID. 2all side view and is also a defining element of the ID. GTI Concept silhouette. The visual stability of the C-pillar flows into the side of the body to create a powerful appearance. A second stabilising Volkswagen element is the straight window shoulder – the side contour between the A- and C-pillars. In combination with the feature line running parallel below this and the muscular side sills, this creates a positive tension in the surfaces that is typical for a Volkswagen and for a GTI. In addition, the side sills are covered at the bottom with matt-black plastic elements which optimise the vehicle aerodynamically and make it appear sportily low-slung on the road n combination with the large wheels.

The flared wheel housing extensions in matt black are another GTI feature. The 20-inch GTI Concept alloy wheels were designed specifically for the concept vehicle. They have eight double spokes and a striking circle of eight openings; the inner surfaces of the wheel rims are black, while the edges of the eight openings have a high-gloss polished finish. Distinctive wheel designs – such as the legendary
The Pirelli wheel rim from the Golf GTI I and the Denver wheel rim from the Golf GTI V – are traditionally among the characteristic features of a GTI.

The designers of the first Golf created an unmistakeable GTI rear end 47 years ago without modifying the body panels. At the same time, they created typical GTI features. These included the rear window with black surround and the always black instead of chrome-plated bumper. With the ID. GTI Concept, the Volkswagen design team has now reinterpreted these features. A black roof spoiler is now used instead of a black rear window frame and is flanked by black air guide elements at the sides. Like on the current Golf GTI Clubsport, the large spoiler is open in the roof transition, apart from a small rib in the center. The spoiler ensures optimum downforce and minimum air turbulence. Under the spoiler, a narrow LED strip runs across the entire width of the vehicle as a third brake light.

Whereas the ID. 2all concept vehicle is equipped with a horizontal LED tail light cluster bar in red, this element has a dark tint on the GTI model. Only the frames of the two 3D tail light clusters located on the left and right and the Volkswagen badge illuminate in bright red. A black shaded area below the horizontal tail light cluster bar picks up on the theme of the black bumper of the Golf GTI I. The GTI lettering is integrated in the middle of this area. The two-part rear diffuser is also black and has a powerful design. This aerodynamic element is flanked at the sides by the wheel housing extensions and extends to the rear beyond the body, thus protecting the painted bumper surfaces. In this way, the diffuser also evokes the black bumper of the first Golf GTI.

The three-spoke steering wheel of the ID. GTI Concept is equipped with an airbag that is located slightly lower down to create a visual bridge to the impact absorber in the Golf GTI I. The illuminated 12 o’clock marker always shows the driver the way. The two horizontal spokes of the multifunction steering wheel each accommodate an easy-grip thumbwheel and two buttons. Among other things, the driver uses these to control the individually configurable digital instruments, the augmented reality head-up display and functions such as audio volume. Since the automatic gearbox is operated by means of a steering column switch, as in the ID.77, the interior designers have transferred the golf ball design of the first GTI gear knob to the multifunction GTI Experience Control in the centre console. The latter is used to control the different driving profiles and the individual looks.

Digital displays inside the concept vehicle allow new designs and functions, making it possible to experience the GTI idea in more varied ways than before. Fundamentally different cockpit looks are available for the instruments of the ID. GTI Concept: the basic configuration is a reflection of the current digital age – with all conceivable information and functions and a sporty GTI graphic design. In the Vintage mode, the GTI Digital Cockpit (27.7 cm / 10.9 inches) in front of the driver is transformed into the instruments of a Golf GTI I from the second series, for example, just like the instruments that were also used in the legendary Pirelli GTI – and a perfect match for the Golf GTI I mode that can be activated with the GTI Experience Control.

The touch display (diagonal: 32.7 cm / 12.9 inches) of the infotainment system is already a near-production version with its intuitive graphics and menu structure. The same applies to the air-conditioning block located under the display. The main air-conditioning functions are controlled here using illuminated buttons. In the middle of the air conditioning block – easily accessible for both driver and front passenger – there is a practical small thumbwheel to adjust the volume of the infotainment system. Located a level further down are two large inductive charging interfaces for smartphones, which are magnetically locked in position. As described above, other vehicle functions are controlled using the GTI Experience Control integrated in the centre console. Numerous USBC interfaces (45 W) distributed throughout the vehicle interior supply power to smartphones. All conceivable larger devices can be powered by a fully usable 230 V socket.

Sports seats were a characteristic feature of the first Golf GTI and the ergonomically designed seats also catch the eye in the new ID. GTI Concept. Their inner surfaces naturally have a reinterpreted GTI chequer pattern. The fabric is called Jack-e (instead of Jacky, the name used for the fabric in the Golf GTI VI). The driver seat backrest is additionally equipped with a pulse sensor (GTI Heartbeat) GTI Interior Concept 13 – a red-pulsating LED element. When he concept vehicle is locked using the remote control, this activates the antitheft alarm and the GTI Heartbeat visible from outside and signals to the driver that the vehicle is secure. The four-door vehicle can accommodate five passengers. The luggage

With the ID. GTI Concept, an electric Volkswagen now has a front-axle differential lock on board for the first time on a VW EV. It is electronically controlled by a Vehicle Dynamics Manager and is used just like in the current generation of the sports car icon. Here, the Vehicle Dynamics Manager of the ID. GTI Concept integrates the powertrain into the control system to an even greater extent than on the petrol models. This is possible because the set-up of the electric drive motor, as an electric system, can be varied almost infinitely. This permits realization of a wide range of different GTI profiles.

Using a newly developed GTI Experience Control on the centre console, the driver can choose which characteristics the powertrain of the ID. GTI Concept should have. For the first time, it is therefore possible to adjust the drive system, running gear, steering, sound experience and even the simulated shift points in the style of one of the historical GTI models.