The Volkswagen ID.3 GTI is the first to break a 50-year tradition.

A gasoline engine is no longer required in a Volkswagen GTI. It seems front-wheel drive has also become optional now.

The newly unveiled Volkswagen ID.3 GTI is the most powerful production GTI in the brand’s history, delivering 240 kW (326 hp) and 545 Nm of torque. These figures are achieved not by a gasoline engine but by a 100% electric motor.

It is thus the second GTI to switch from gasoline to electricity, following the Volkswagen ID. Polo GTI, the brand’s first electric model to bear this historically significant name. But if you think it is merely because of its electric powertrain that the ID.3 GTI breaks a 50-year tradition, you’re wrong.

Since 1976, when the first Golf GTI hit the market, it has always featured front-wheel drive. This approach helped maintain what Volkswagen has always sought in vehicles with this designation: a lightweight, relatively affordable, practical car for everyday use that can still offer a more sporty driving experience.

Even the ID. Polo GTI, despite being 100% electric, continues this tradition. The ID.3 GTI, on the other hand, breaks it: for the first time in five decades, a Volkswagen GTI sends power to the rear wheels.

What is the explanation?

Rear-wheel drive was not a deliberate choice for the ID.3 GTI version, but rather a consequence of the platform it is based on: the MEB Plus, the same one used in the Volkswagen ID. Polo and ID. Cross.

While those models use front-wheel drive, the ID.3 Neo retains the rear-wheel drive configuration that has defined it since its launch in 2019.

This is why the ID.3 GTI ultimately breaks a tradition that spans over 50 years. Although this change may seem like merely a technical consequence, it will still divide opinions among the purists of the GTI name.

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The numbers of the most powerful GTI ever

Although it breaks away from the front-wheel-drive tradition and is the second all-electric GTI from the German brand, the ID.3 GTI has more advantages beyond being the most powerful of all Volkswagen GTIs. Its performance is one such advantage.

With 240 kW (326 horsepower) and 545 Nm of torque, it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds—a figure comparable to that of the Golf GTI—despite weighing around two tons.

But as mentioned earlier, a Volkswagen GTI is also meant to be practical for everyday use. In this regard, thanks to a 79 kWh battery, the new ID.3 GTI claims an range of up to 601 km between charges.

The new Volkswagen ID.3 GTI will arrive on the market during the first quarter of 2027, but its prices are not yet known. Nevertheless, it is expected to cost more than the approximately 50,000 euros priced for the ID.3 GTX when it was still on sale.