Don't Expect An Electric VW R Model Any Time Soon

A go-faster, R-branded version of the all-electric VW ID 3 is something that has felt all-but-certain. VW even said at the time of the car’s reveal that it was “actively considering” a performance variant of the ID 3, while the bonkers ID R has been busy laying the marketing groundwork for the concept of an R EV.

More recently, though, Car Throttle spoke to R GmbH boss Jost Capito, who put our expectations in check. “It will take a while until we see that [an all-electric R model], because we first have to know what is the excitement of an electric performance car, and this is why we are working with the eR1“.

He continued, “I believe the excitement of an E car is different to the performance cars we have now. But we have to find what that excitement is, and honestly, I don’t know yet.” Electric cars certainly have the straight-line speed box ticked, but this won’t cut it on its own. “Just the 0-60 is not enough for the future to have an exciting performance car,” Capito concluded.

VW’s R outfit has started its electrification journey via the hybrid Touareg R, described as a stepping stone by Capito. But in the short to mid-term, its products are more likely to revolve around pure internal combustion power via the tried and tested EA888 inline-four turbo.

Capito reckons the engine still “has a lot of potential,” and will be sticking around for a while. As for how long, he wouldn’t go into specifics, but the 61-year-old did say, “When I retire it will still be in production. I hope that helps you!” To save you a Google, the retirement age in Germany is 65…