For all its quality-related woes and Dieselgate wrongs, Volkswagen AG has a long history of making hot hatchbacks. The Mk1 Golf GTI, for example, was formally announced in 1975, two years after Simca rolled out the 1100 Ti, the car that was retrospectively considered to be the first-ever hot hatch.
More than four decades later, the Mk8 Golf GTI flaunts 245 PS (242 horsepower) and 370 Nm (273 pound-feet) of torque from a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine complemented by a six-speed manual or a dual-clutch transmission with seven forward ratios. Straight-line performance isn’t this car’s forte, though. Like the original, the outgoing model is a corner-loving car that doubles as a practical and well-equipped daily driver.
There are, however, two limitations that Volkswagen is not willing to ignore any longer. For starters, the front-wheel-drive layout cannot hold a candle to the 4Motion-equipped Golf R and uber hatches that include the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4Matic+. And secondly, the European Commission has singlehandedly declared war on internal combustion from 2025 onward.
Spurred by Dieselgate and plenty more scandals, the executive branch of the European Union is proposing Euro 7 as the final emission standard prior to all cars becoming ZEVs in the future. Deemed a de facto ban on fossil-fuel vehicles, Euro 7 also paves the way for the new Volkswagen ID.3 R.
Likely previewed by chief executive officer Ralf Brandstaetter with the ID.X Concept, the handling-focused electric vehicle is expected to launch in 2024 based on hearsay. Imagined with familiar styling cues by Photoshop artist Bernhard Reichel, the ID.3 GTX (or R, according to some sources) will differ from lesser from the ID.3 family through gloss-black accents, larger wheels complemented by low-profile tires designed for grip and traction rather than low rolling resistance, and a dual-motor powertrain developed with a significant focus on performance.
Before revealing the concept, everyone was looking forward to at least 300 horsepower and e-AWD. The ID.X raised the bar to 329 horsepower (333 PS) and heaven knows how much peak torque, output figures that enable a 5.3-second acceleration to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour). By comparison, the ID.4 GTX offers 295 e-ponies (299 PS) and 6.2 seconds.
There are, however, two limitations that Volkswagen is not willing to ignore any longer. For starters, the front-wheel-drive layout cannot hold a candle to the 4Motion-equipped Golf R and uber hatches that include the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4Matic+. And secondly, the European Commission has singlehandedly declared war on internal combustion from 2025 onward.
Spurred by Dieselgate and plenty more scandals, the executive branch of the European Union is proposing Euro 7 as the final emission standard prior to all cars becoming ZEVs in the future. Deemed a de facto ban on fossil-fuel vehicles, Euro 7 also paves the way for the new Volkswagen ID.3 R.
Likely previewed by chief executive officer Ralf Brandstaetter with the ID.X Concept, the handling-focused electric vehicle is expected to launch in 2024 based on hearsay. Imagined with familiar styling cues by Photoshop artist Bernhard Reichel, the ID.3 GTX (or R, according to some sources) will differ from lesser from the ID.3 family through gloss-black accents, larger wheels complemented by low-profile tires designed for grip and traction rather than low rolling resistance, and a dual-motor powertrain developed with a significant focus on performance.
Before revealing the concept, everyone was looking forward to at least 300 horsepower and e-AWD. The ID.X raised the bar to 329 horsepower (333 PS) and heaven knows how much peak torque, output figures that enable a 5.3-second acceleration to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour). By comparison, the ID.4 GTX offers 295 e-ponies (299 PS) and 6.2 seconds.