Volkswagen could add a sports car to its family of ID electric cars to serve as a technological flagship and incubator for battery development.
That's according to Autocar which reported on Monday that VW is investigating the possibility of developing a sports car on the battery-electric MEB platform for launch around the middle of the decade.
The electric sports car was reportedly mentioned in an internal strategy paper that called for production of the model at the former Karmann plant in Osnabrück, Germany. The Volkswagen Group-owned plant is currently responsible for Porsche's 718 line which in the future could be built exclusively at Porsche's main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
Volkswagen ID R electric race car sets Nurburgring lap records
One possibility is developing the car alongside an electric successor to the Porsche 718, though the Porsche is more likely to use a modified version of the current 718's platform than switch to the VW Group's MEB design. Another possibility is the VW being developed alongside an electric successor to the Audi TT.
This isn't the first time that we've heard about a sports car joining VW's ID family. Last May, Sven Smeets, VW's motorsport chief, told Motor Authority that VW was looking at adding an electric flagship for the Volkswagen R division.
Smeets also revealed in an earlier interview with Autocar that VW was developing a “performance-based battery” using knowledge gained from the ID R time-attack program.
Volkswagen Golf eR1 concept
“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,” he said.
VW also this month rolled out the battery-electric Golf eR1 concept that was developed using lessons learned from the ID R. VW described the concept as an “ambassador for future performance vehicles.”
Before we see any sports car in the ID family, VW will launch more conventional models. The ID 3 hatchback was the first and next up will be the ID 4 small SUV and then likely a mid-size sedan and wagon, a van, and a mid-size SUV.
