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Volkswagen’s promised electric Golf GTI and R equivalent may launch as soon as next year alongside the hatchback’s mid-life update.
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The upcoming Volkswagen ID.3 GTX electric hot hatch looks set to arrive as soon as 2023 with the car’s mid-life facelift, according to a new report.
Speaking with UK publication Auto Express, Volkswagen product spokesperson Martin Hube all but confirmed the ID.3 electric hatch would gain its long-awaited, flagship all-wheel-drive variant with its mid-life facelift, which the British outlet says is due as soon as next year.
The all-wheel-drive ID.3 – set to wear Volkswagen’s GTX electric performance car badge – was confirmed for production last year, however this represents the first indication of when it’s due to launch.
“Of course the [ID.3 GTX] project is progressing,” Hube said. “[For the] ID.3 facelift…we will get some very interesting details and of course, we are convinced that customer’s expectations for a bit more power, for all-wheel drive is there, and [the] customer’s wish is what we have to fulfil.”
Launch timing for the updated ID.3 is yet to be confirmed, however Volkswagen typically facelifts its vehicles after three to four years – priming the ID.3 for 2023 or 2024, following its 2019 or 2020 launch.
As reported, the production ID.3 GTX will borrow cues from last year’s ID.X concept, which was powered by two electric motors and a 77kWh battery for outputs of 245kW and 460Nm.
However, the production car won’t be quite as powerful, with the larger ID.4 GTX’s 220kW dual-motor tune a likely bet, or the Skoda Enyaq 80X’s 195kW.
Expect the 0-100km/h time to fall between the ID.X’s 5.3 seconds, and the larger and heavier ID.4 GTX’s 6.2 seconds.
In contrast, the standard ID.3 – and its Australia-bound Cupra Born twin – is available with no more than 150kW from a single electric motor on the rear axle, good for a 7.3-second 0-100km/h time with a 58kWh battery, or 7.9 seconds with a 77kWh pack.
While the ID.X differentiated itself from the ID.3 through green highlights and large 21-inch wheels, typical GTX styling upgrades have typically included mild revisions to bumpers, three-dot LED front fog lights, body-coloured or black styling elements, and new wheel designs.
Enlarged performance front brakes – but with carry-over rear drum brakes – and lower adaptive sports suspension should also feature.
The 2023 Volkswagen ID.3 GTX electric hot hatch is set to launch as soon as next year, it’s rumoured. Stay tuned to Drive for all the latest.
Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines as a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.
Read more about Alex Misoyannis 
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