Three years after reclaiming the GTX acronym for high-performance electric models, VW has announced that it will stop using the name and return to its origins.
Therefore, the next generation of VW’s electric sports models will receive the well-known designations GTI and R that have been used for decades in the brand’s gasoline-powered models.
“GTX is the performance brand of the MEB platform, but we will return to GTI and R in our future products,” revealed Thomas Schäfer, CEO of VW in an interview with “Autocar.”
Therefore, everything indicates that the return to the historic GTI designation may take place with the new generation of the Golf, which is already expected to be 100% electric.
“The question is how do we position the GTI?” Schafer added. “The GTI is traditionally performance and front-wheel drive.” This should not be a problem in the case of the 2029 Golf GTI, as predicted by last year’s front-wheel drive ID.GTI, an evolution of the previous ID.2all concept car. However, it may be a problem in the case of larger electric models that require two motors to enjoy greater power in order to justify the use of the GTI designation.
It seems certain that the VW R will become a 100% electric brand by the end of the decade.
