Next VW Golf R Could Be An AWD Electric Hot Hatch With Dual Motors

Volkswagen has already said all R models will be electric by 2030.

By: Adrian Padeanu

Feb 28, 2023 at 3:01am ET

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Following a mid-cycle facelift planned for the current model in 2024, the VW Golf will live to see a ninth generation later this decade. It'll do away with the combustion engines and become a purely electric model positioned below the ID.3. The folks from Wolfsburg have already announced the "GTI" and "R" hot hatches will soldier on in the EV era, and a new report from Autocar states the latter version is already planned.

As previously reported, the ID.2 riding on the upcoming front-wheel-drive-based MEB-Plus platform could ultimately get the Golf moniker and spawn a GTI. The British magazine has it on good authority the new architecture is being engineered to accommodate a dual-motor setup, thus opening the possibility for an all-paw R. An AWD system is also being considered for a crossover version of the ID.2 to mirror the relationships between the Polo / T-Cross and the Golf / T-Roc.

It was May 2021 when VW unveiled the ID.X as a conceptual hot hatch with AWD and a healthy 329 horsepower (245 kilowatts) for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in 5.3 seconds. A production version, tentatively carrying the "GTX" suffix, is coming sooner rather than later, based on the ID.3 facelift. It's too soon to say whether the all-electric Golf R would be able to match that punch given the different architecture.

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The ID.2 is scheduled to go on sale in 2025, so any performance derivatives are scheduled to arrive in the latter half of the decade. With the Touareg R, VW's R has already (partially) embraced electrification by giving the posh SUV a plug-in hybrid powertrain consisting of a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 and an electric motor. It's good for a total output of 456 hp and 516 lb-ft (702 Nm).

It'll be interesting which direction the next-gen Tiguan R as the smaller crossover will transition to the third generation later this year. If VW intends to give it the R treatment, we won't be too surprised if it'll be a PHEV as well seeing as how Euro 7 regulations are looming.