- ID.7 GTX electric sedan launches in Europe with 335 hp, bi-motor drivetrain and sub-6-second 0-62 mph performance
- 86 kWh battery accepts 200 kW DC fills, can charge from 10-80 percent in 30 minutes
- Mechanically identical GTX wagon was revealed in March but entire ID.7 launch is now on hold in U.S.
VW has delayed the launch of the ID.7 electric sedan in North America due to weakening demand for EVs, but over in Europe it’s full volts ahead. Wolfsburg’s Tesla Model 3 rival has been on sale there for over six months and this summer the lineup expands to include a sporty dual-motor GTX.
Make that two GTXs because the sedan seen here will share showroom space with the GTX Tourer that made its debut back in March, and which delivers the exact same drivetrain, but in a more practical package.
Related: VW Puts ID.7 US Launch On Ice As EV Sales Cool
Until now the swoopy, if slightly bland, ID.7 has only been available in Europe with a single, 282 hp (286 PS / 210 kW) motor that drives the rear wheels. But the GTX adds a front motor that gives the hotter ID.7 all-wheel drive traction and bumps the total system output to 335 hp (340 PS / 250 kW).
That’s not a huge power hike – and is sure to disappoint anyone who was hoping that last year’s 550 hp (558 PS) ID.X Performance concept would make it to production – which is why the GTX doesn’t deliver Tesla Model 3 Performance-like acceleration. VW says a trip to 62 mph (100 km/h) in the GTX sedan takes “less than” 6 seconds, versus 6.5 seconds for the RWD car.
A 200 kW max charge rate also puts the GTX behind what some rivals can offer, but that’s still better than the 175 kW max offered by other ID models and allows owners to fill their bi-motor ID.7s’ 86 kWh batteries from 10 to 80 percent in “significantly” less than 30 minutes.
Performance styling cues added by the VW design team to mark out the GTX from other ID.7s are typically discrete. There’s no sign of the big trunk-lid wing or front splitter that made the ID.X Performance concept pop, so instead look for a jumbo-sized lower grille mesh that looks like it’s been designed to be visible to the partially sighted, 20-inch wheels (21s are optional), small GTX badges below each door mirror, a black roof and pillars and IQ.Light LED matrix headlights.
Inside, you get sports seats covered in a combination of plain fabric and ArtVelours Eco microfleece, a red-stitched sports steering wheel, and equipment like 30-color background lighting that would cost you extra on a regular ID.7. The 15-inch touchscreen and head-up display are already standard on Euro ID.7s and they work well.
The GTX sedan and wagon go on sale in Europe this summer, but their future in North America looks uncertain. The regular ID.7 hasn’t launched there yet and its debut has now been put on hold due to weaker-than-expected demand for EVs. Presuming that the model will arrive eventually, we already know that the GTX’s bi-motor drivetrain will be offered alongside a cheaper single-motor model, but minus the GTX branding.
VW has already said it plans to globally phase out the GTX badging it resurrected for its hot EVs, and when the ID.Buzz GTX was unveiled recently with the same 335 hp guts as this ID.7, the U.S. division of the country said it wouldn’t call its version GTX.
