AI News Feed
Market watch
Amazon sets Oct. 6-7 Prime Day sale, early TV deals start at $179.99TypeSafe AI Emerges From Stealth With $40M to Put Decision Models Inside SoftwareResearchers Sue NIH, Alleging Trump Administration Used Keyword List to Censor GrantsHackers publish Florida driver data after breach of state motor vehicle databaseWorkiva Puts Business Outcomes at Center of AI-Native Workflows, CIO SaysZDNET Advises Against Running Heaters, Ovens and Central HVAC on Portable Power Stations
Amazon sets Oct. 6-7 Prime Day sale, early TV deals start at $179.99TypeSafe AI Emerges From Stealth With $40M to Put Decision Models Inside SoftwareResearchers Sue NIH, Alleging Trump Administration Used Keyword List to Censor GrantsHackers publish Florida driver data after breach of state motor vehicle databaseWorkiva Puts Business Outcomes at Center of AI-Native Workflows, CIO SaysZDNET Advises Against Running Heaters, Ovens and Central HVAC on Portable Power Stations
Companies

Volkswagen unveils ID.3 GTI, its most powerful GTI, but rear-wheel drive and weight may split fans

Volkswagen has revealed the electric ID.3 GTI, due in early 2027 with 326 hp and rear-wheel drive. It is the most powerful GTI yet, but its weight and lack of simulated gear shifts may test hot-hatch loyalty.

AI News Feed · 2026-09-17 03:19

According to TechRadar, the ID.3 GTI follows the smaller ID. Polo GTI, which Volkswagen has also said will receive the performance badge. The move marks a shift from Volkswagen's earlier GTX badging on electric models including the ID.3 and ID. Buzz, and signals a more serious push into high-performance electric cars.

The ID.3 GTI uses a single motor driving the rear wheels, a first for a GTI model. Engineers told Evo Magazine that they adjusted the software to stop the rear tires from spinning when full torque is applied, even with traction control switched off. Volkswagen has not added simulated gear shifts like those used in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Ioniq 6 N and Honda Super N, but it has introduced artificial engine noise in the cabin.

Volkswagen has given the car Tornado Red GTI paint and bespoke 20-inch alloy wheels. Inside, tartan-style upholstery and a large GTI button on the steering wheel mark it out. Volkswagen claims the ID.3 GTI can travel 373 miles on a single charge, though peak charging is capped at 183 kW, which TechRadar said makes rapid track-day battery top-ups harder than those possible in Hyundai's high-performance EVs.

TechRadar noted that Volkswagen has more than 50 years of GTI history, from the first Golf GTI in 1975 to the recent Golf GTI Edition 50. Those cars combined front-wheel-drive thrills with comfort, build quality, usability and restrained styling. Moving the badge into the electric era was always going to be difficult, the report said, because the formula that made the GTI famous is not fully present in the ID.3 GTI.

Top Gear puts the ID.3 GTI's weight at around two tons, about 500 kg heavier than the heaviest internal-combustion Golf GTI, according to TechRadar. The rear-wheel-drive layout will also change how the car behaves compared with its front-wheel-drive predecessors. Together with the absence of real or synthesized gear shifting, that may make the electric GTI less engaging than performance EVs from Hyundai and Honda.

TechRadar said the ID.3 GTI may be the fastest and most powerful ID.3 yet, but questioned whether it is a true successor to the Golf GTI. It added that Volkswagen could have a hard time persuading petrolheads to give up cars such as the Mark 7 Golf GTI and switch to the electric model.