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The Volkswagen ID.3 received a mid-life facelift this year and to help give it further driver appeal a hot GTX variant is in the works – spied here for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first we\u2019ve heard about VW\u2019s plans on giving its ID.3 more performance. Back in 2021, the then VW CEO, Ralf Brandstatter, said: \u201cThe decision is made. We have the ID.4 GTX and the ID.3 GTX will come.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve also tried it in concept form. We were given a passenger ride in a concept model badged ID.X, as an early taste of what will eventually become the production model. We expect the final car will be toned down from the ID.X\u2019s dual-electric motor set-up fed by a 77kWh (usable) battery for a total 328bhp output. The concept\u2019s expensive KW coilover suspension probably won\u2019t be carried over either.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s clear VW\u2019s new creation isn\u2019t too far away, especially now we\u2019ve caught it testing on the public road. Judging by these images of a test car, it appears the production model will be toned down from the concept, replicating the overall subtle design approach of GTX cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ID.3 GTX arrives in the wake of the newly-unveiled ID.3 facelift. The exterior should borrow design elements from the concept but will be largely similar to the facelifted car. The front bumper shows a revised air intake and the side trim has been tweaked as well. We should see a sportier set of alloy wheels on the final product and to the rear there\u2019s a slightly reshaped bumper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The interior will also benefit from elements added in this year\u2019s facelift. The GTX\u2019s launch will likely coincide with the facelifted car receiving a 12.9-inch infotainment screen (replacing the current 10-inch unit) and the ID.3\u2019s 5.3-inch driver display should be retained.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s likely that the ID.3 GTX will use the same twin-motor powertrain as the ID.4 GTX, producing 295bhp. In the smaller, lighter ID.3 with all-wheel drive, GTX will likely undercut the ID.4 GTX\u2019s 6.2-second 0-62mph time.<\/p>\n
The ID.3 GTX may have a short lifespan however, given what current VW boss Thomas Schafer told Auto Express at the 2023 Munich Motor Show: \u201cThe iconic names that definitely will be carried into the future are Golf, Tiguan, and GTI. That is given. The others, we look at on a case-by-case basis, but these three are done.\u201d This suggests all-electric GTI models are in store – potentially replacing the GTX badge. \u201cGTX was just an interim for the battery electric one, but we\u2019re probably going to merge that in the long run\u201d, said Schafer.<\/p>\n