No-brainer? Volkswagen Eyes MEB-based Sports Car

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]