The Volkswagen ID X Performance concept is a 558bhp electric sports saloon that previews the future of the brand’s performance models.
Giving hints at what hot Volkswagen EVs will look like, the one-off is comfortably the most powerful Volkswagen to wear numberplates yet, and packs nearly double the power of the brand’s current most potent road-going EVs.
Revealed at the annual Volkswagen ID Driver’s Club meeting in Switzerland, the ID X Performance follows last week’s ID GTI concept as a statement of intent for electric sports cars. Tellingly, it uses the same ‘X’ moniker as a previous four-wheel-drive performance version of the Volkswagen ID 3, which was quietly revealed in 2021.
Andreas Reckewerth, Volkswagen’s head of technology for the platform, said: “The MEB platform offers many fantastic possibilities for approaching vehicle development with a great deal of creativity. It was clear to us that we wanted to base our new show car on the ID 7 and that we would focus on enhancing the performance. In this way we can show what is possible.”
The firm has not said how closely the ID X concept previews the already-confirmed Volkswagen ID 7 GTX, but Autocar previously reported that the production-spec car will pair the base model’s 282bhp and 402lb ft rear motor with the ID 4 GTX’s 107bhp front motor to give a combined output of around 390bhp. It is possible that a future ‘ID 7 R’ could be more directly inspired by this concept, given the brand has confirmed an electric future for its top-rung performance sub-brand.
The concept is obviously marked out from the standard ID 7 by its chunky front splitter and rear diffuser made out of carbonfibre, 60mm suspension drop and 20in alloys with 265-section track tyres. Tinted rear lights and a menacing matt grey paint scheme round off the overhaul.
