Those privy to the early proposals of the redesigned ID 2 say it sits halfway between the existing internal-combustion-engined Volkswagen Polo and Golf in terms of exterior dimensions, with a length put at “around 4250mm”.
With a relatively short bonnet and flat floor, it is claimed to offer “the sort of interior space of models typically one segment higher”. Strong links to the fourth-generation Golf are made by Volkswagen insiders in reference to the new model.
One source told Autocar: “We have great tradition and product strength in this segment. It is not a whole new beginning but a logical continuation of what Volkswagen has excelled at in the past, albeit with electric drive.”
At this early stage, the ID 2 is set to be offered in single-motor, front-wheel-drive form only. However, Volkswagen sources contacted by Autocar confirm the MEB-Plus platform will support dual-motor, four-wheel-drive models and say such a configuration cannot be ruled out in the future.
“It will be relatively lightweight by electric car standards, somewhere between 1600kg and 1700kg,” Autocar has been told. In a further significant move, Schäfer has also given the nod for a return of the GTI badge. It is set to replace the GTX model name first introduced on the Volkswagen ID 4 in 2020, paving the way for the first fully electric Volkswagen Golf GTI.
“The GTX is dead,” a senior source revealed to Autocar. “A decision has already been made to replace it with the traditional GTI name and it is being considered for the ID 2.”
The combination of front-wheel drive and the GTI name references a lineage that dates back to the original Golf GTI, introduced in 1976. Although a final decision on whether it will be applied to the production version of the ID 2 has not yet been made, suggestions are that a further concept of the new electric model featuring characteristic GTI styling cues could be revealed at the annual Wörthersee GTI fan meet in Austria in May or, alternatively, the ID fan meet in Locarno, Switzerland, in September.