No-brainer? Volkswagen Eyes MEB-based Sports Car

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

It’s well established by now that electric driving needn’t be an exercise in sedate tree hugging. Horsepower and performance are just as big a driver in today’s marketplace as the old issue of range, at least according to the minds behind the slew of potent EVs coming down the pipe.

Having just released its Euro-market ID 3 electric hatchback, soon to be followed up by an ID 4 compact crossover and a range of larger models, Volkswagen is considering a sportier application for its dedicated EV architecture.

The MEB platform underpinning the brand’s ID-badged models could find its way into a sports car, Autocar reports, though any such vehicle wouldn’t see the light of day until the middle of the decade. There’s sedans, crossovers, and a reborn microbus to field first.

With MEB, VW will have scale working in its favor. A sporting model, possibly serving as a halo, would sprinkle marketing fairy dust over the remaining ID models while completing a full stable of vehicles for (nearly) every type of buyer.

According to the publication’s sources, VW brass have a coupe and convertible in mind, though it isn’t confirmed whether either of these bodystyles has received a green light. It also isn’t known whether this model will carry two occupants or four (two of them being short in stature). With the automaker’s Karmann factory reportedly tapped for the project, further questions arise: For one, will the model have a sibling in the form of an electric 718 (Boxster)? Audi’s working on one, though it isn’t known whether the Audi crew will use VW’s MEB bones or go in-house.

What is known is that, should the model come to fruition, it will make use of high-performance battery technology drawn from the ID R race car (seen above). Like the brand’s internal combustion cars, the ID range is expected to field performance-focused R variants. This hypothetical model would take that mission more seriously.

It would also provide a rival for Tesla’s returning Roadster.

“We are beginning to work on the first batteries for the performance road cars, using the dedicated team from the ID R, so there will be a direct link between them,” said Sven Smeets, VW’s motorsports boss.

[Image: Volkswagen]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Aajax Aajax on Feb 24, 2020

    I wish them luck, but I think Tesla will have the Miata of electric roadsters, while VW will be lucky to have a Del Sol.

    • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on Feb 24, 2020

      Given the weight involved with batteries, I am not sure I'd use Miata as the comparison. Looks to be a bit more spendy too.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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