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Electric car sales might not quite be taking off as planned, but Volkswagen might be the next one to help light the fuse. The German hot-hatch builder has already confirmed that it will make a faster version of the ID. 2 called the ID.2 GTI, and now a new report says that VW is also considering a Volkswagen ID. 2 R.

The proposed ID.2 R would be an all-wheel-drive electric beast. An electron-motivated equivalent to the Golf R. And a possible rival for the hottest of the current electric hatches, the 500-horsepower Renault 5 Turbo 3E beast.

VW Wants Three Motors For An ID. Monster

A new report from Autocar says Volkswagen’s R brand is getting ready to have its way with the ID.2 compact EV. It would take the front-mounted motor from the ID.2 GTI and that car’s power electronics. Then, it would add two independently controlled hub motors in the rear wheels.

The hub motors would do more than just boost horsepower. They would also give VW’s engineers individual control of torque at each rear wheel, both when applying it for acceleration and when adding braking torque via regeneration. That means better torque vectoring and potentially a more tail-happy experience.

Of course, hub motors also help keep rear cargo space intact. That’s key for a hot hatch, making the idea a win-win. If VW were able to make this make financial sense, it could also potentially help power future VW ID. crossovers and taller versions of the ID.2 and its siblings.

Renault’s 536-hp Carbon Fiber EV Could Be The Target

In the report, Autocar says its sources at VW HQ in Wolfsburg say that the R is being developed “input from a technical partner based in the Balkans that is believed to specialize in lightweight, high-output in-wheel motor systems.” That’s a really long way around to saying “we’re getting some help from Rimac.” That company, which is now closely involved with the VW Group since its purchase of Bugatti, makes some of the fastest EVs in the world.

Of course, that might be a little pie in the sky for such a small EV, even if the Renault it could be aimed at has a starting price of about $181,000. That car has 536 horsepower from its motors, but it also has a carbon fiber body; to merit that big price tag, it needed a lot of tech.

Fortunately, VW could have a cheaper route. The report says that it is possible for VW to fit a more conventional single rear motor in the car. It wouldn’t need expensive modifications to make it happen, though it would probably cut into space.

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Volkswagen’s ID. 2 GTI is expected to make somewhere in the neighborhood of 280 horsepower. Just enough to keep it ahead of the gas Golf GTI. An R model would then be expected to make about 400 horsepower. Or, of course, a lot more if VW decided that it really wanted to catch Renault. The challenge, then, is to keep the weight down. To make sure it can handle like an R model should.

Source: Autocar