A fresh report out of the United Kingdom claims Volkswagen will launch an ID3 R hot hatch in 2024, with the electric performance model set to feature rear-wheel drive and more than 220 kW.
According to Autocar, the brand’s bosses in Wolfsburg as “close to signing off” plans for an R-badged version of the ID3 all-electric hatch.
Indeed, VW development boss Frank Welsch told the publication the ID3 R is “something we’re looking at”.
“I like the idea, but we have to decide if the market is ready to accept such a model,” he explained.
Interestingly, Autocar claims the ID3 R would not wear the GTX badge, since that moniker will be used only on vehicles featuring all-wheel drive (with an electric motor on each axle). The ID3 R, meanwhile, is expected to be rear-driven.
“The ID3 can accept four-wheel drive, although it’s unlikely to receive it during the first generation,” Welsch told the UK-based publication.
“There will not be a GTX variant, but we’re yet to decide on a rear-wheel-drive R variant.”
From what we understand, there are no plans to offer the standard ID3 in South Africa (although a few units are set to arrive in the country in 2021, joining the e-Golf as part of VW SA’s pilot project). The ID4, meanwhile, is likely to hit the local market in 2022 as the first fully electric VW offered for sale in South Africa.
