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LISTEN: All-electric GTI and Golf R show the future is upon us
The Volkswagen Golf 8.5 will be the last generation with an internal combustion engine.
The VW Golf 8 GTI might be the last generation of the iconic hot hatch to be sold in Mzansi with an internal combustion engine. Picture: Volkswagen
It was no secret Volkswagen is pursuing an all-electric future. But the emergence of the first all-electric GTI and talk of an all-electric Golf R in the space of a week mean that the future is upon us.
Listen to Pitstop podcast
In this week’s edition of The Citizen Motoring’s Pitstop podcast, Jaco van der Merwe and Mark Jones discuss the latest developments in Wolfsburg. And they come to the conclusion that there is no turning back in VW’s all-electric future.
Earlier this month. VW showcased the ID.GTI Concept at the AAI Mobility show in Munich. It is the first ever all-electric VW to get the iconic nameplate. But with a twist.
All-electric GTI
The all-electric GTI stands for Grand Touring Intelligence and not Grand Touring Injection. The ID.GTI is built on the ID.2all platform and will be front-wheel in typical Golf and Polo GTI fashion.
The ID.GTI pays homage to the original Mk I Golf GTI.
Not long after the ID.GTI Concept’s first appearance, it also became clear that the ninth generation Golf will be offered in performance R guise. It will be based on the Porsche-developed Scalable Systems Platform (SSP).
ALSO READ: Does Toyota GR Corolla end Golf R’s hot hatch dominance?
Golf 9 R a reality
“GTI is two-wheel drive. The R technically is the four-wheel drive. It’ll probably only be with the SSP platform because with R you need to really put another level on,” Volkswagen Passenger Brand CEO Thomas Schafer was quoted as saying in Munich.
“So we decided we keep that on. We have the R Line anyway, but we’re going to have all the internal combustion engine models that will still be available as an R in a Golf, but then we’ll switch to SSP.”
It seems that the Golf 8.5 GTI and R will be the last generation of the hot hatch to be powered by an internal combustion engine. It remains to be seen if Volkswagen South Africa will offer the updated Golf. Mzansi only received these two models of the Golf 8.
