VW 'GTX' Badge Confirmed For Brand's Go-Faster EVs

The already busy world of performance VW badges is getting even more crowded. Joining the R, GTI, GTD and GTE sub-brands is GTX, a new moniker reserved for fast electric vehicles.

The first of these will be based on the ID.4, using the dual-motor powertrain confirmed for the crossover a little while ago. Specs will match the Skoda Enyaq vRS, we suspect, meaning outputs of 302bhp and 339lb ft of torque. Similar to what you get from the average all-wheel drive, EA888 VW Group performance car, although due to the weight penalty of all those batteries, it won’t be as brisk as something like a Tiguan R.

The Enyaq vRS manages 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds, a figure the ID.4 GTX will likely share, along with an electronically-limited 112mph top speed. A dual-motor powertrain in the lighter ID.3 might be more entertaining, but such a thing might be tricky to position under the cheaper versions of the ID.4. It’s telling that VW despited to start by giving the ID.4 the GTX treatment, even though the 3 was launched long before.

In the name of efficiency, the new front axle motor in the ID.4 GTX only comes into play “when very high performance or strong traction are required”. Alternatively, the driver can activate it permanently by switching to the car’s new ‘Traction’ mode.

Speaking about the new badge, marketing and sales board member Klaus Zellmer said:

“The letters GT have long stood for driving pleasure. Now the X is building the bridge to the mobility of the future. Sustainability and sportiness are not mutually exclusive, but complement each other intelligently.”

We don’t know at this stage what all this means for the long-term future of the GTI badge. The GTE and GTD are destined to be killed off once hybrid and diesel cars cease to be a thing for VW, but given the history attached to the GTI badge, we wondered if it might be carried into the electric age. Perhaps it still will, if ‘GTX’ ends up being more of a stepping stone. Let’s see.