An R version of the electric ID 3 will arrive in under five years, using four-wheel drive and performance e-motors, promising even better acceleration than the current Golf GTI.
Volkswagen sales boss Jurgen Stackmann said: “If there is a future for R it must be electric, it’s very simple. It won’t be next year, because we need to define what R is in the electric world."
In the interim, VW will dip its toes in electrified performance with a plug-in hybrid Volkswagen Touareg R, said Stackmann.
Volkswagen ID 3: vital EV revealed with up to 341-mile range
“Clearly the word R means high output combustion engine, and that will now move to higher output plug-in hybrid systems and then it will move onwards to R electric. We need to get firm on our electric vision fast.”Talking about an ID 3 R, Stackmann said the solution must address range and performance.
“Today, if you look at high performance and electric, it’s actually a huge compromise, and you pay the penalty with a small range.
“We should be able to deliver something meaningful in under five years but it takes a team of developers, and it’s tough without a lot of expertise at the moment. We have to start that journey.”
VW R&D chief Frank Welsch said that a performance ID 3 was one of his top priorities to optimise the ID 3 over the coming years. “We should have the same as cars such as the Volkswagen Golf, the GTI and R. People like performance and I’m sure people will love performance in ID cars too.”
He added: “The situation is different - even in the normal ID, we have good performance right from the very beginning, you just touch the pedal and you feel the punch. From 0-60km is like the GTI. No GTI is faster than the ID 3. At the upper end, of course GTI is better.”
The ID R race car, currently breaking records at various locations around the world including Pikes Peak and the Nurburgring, is key to showing the public that electric performance can be even better than traditional performance, said Welsch.
Talking about requirements for an ID 3 R, he said: “We need four wheel drive and a performance e-motor. It won’t be called GTI, let’s see whether it’s R or something else.”
“In under five years is okay. We have a lot of other work to do with other ID models and the Golf, Volkswagen Tiguan and so on, before then.”
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ID.3 either too slow, or too pricey
“… because we need to define what R is in the electric world …”
Yes, indeed you need to do that.
In Germany, the ID.3 1st edition with its 50 kWh battery is priced between €40k and €50k. It does 0…100 km/h in 8.5 s.
For comparisson: The Peugeot e-208 is priced between €32k and €37k and needs only 8.1 s. And with its 50 kWh liquid cooled battery, it actually should be even faster, see the Nissan Leaf that doesn’t have liquid cooling (7.9 s with a 40 kWh battery and 6.9 s with 62 kWh). Did Peugeot slow it down so that it equals the top petrol version of the 208 (8.7 s)?
On the other side, we have the Tesla Model 3:
Either the normal ID.3 aims at the Model 3 Standard Range, but then it needs to be faster. And the ID.3 R would then compete with the Model 3 Performance. Or the ID.3 R aims at the Standard Range, but then the normal ID.3 needs to be cheaper.
All prices for Germany before incentives, source: ADAC Autokatalog
Different car segments
There is another aspect to be considered. The Peugeot e-208 is in the B-segment, while the VW ID.3 is in the C-segment and the Tesla Model 3 in the D-segment. This means that even with the same performance, the ID.3 is expected to be cheaper than the Model 3 by customers, and the e-208 is expected to be cheaper than the ID.3.
He's right.........
......you can get huge performance from EV's but it absolutely destroys the range, it's a lot of weight to be accelerating and while regen can recover some energy it's not enough for agressive braking - though I'm sure it can improve.
Good EV range requires you to make serious compromises, this is why those Tesla's are usually slipstreaming lorries in the LH lane, the guy is doing 60mph with the heater off and his coat on, it's not my idea of luxury.
Agreed with electricvanman.
This is meh. Who knows what car I will be driving in 2024. I don't and I imagine that even of I was interested in an id3 r there will be lots of other cars that I will also me interested in before 2024.