Volkswagen has provided the first teaser of what the Mk9 Golf will look like, as the hatchback prepares to enter its first generation as a purely electric vehicle.
Shown off to members of Germany’s IG Metall union – who represent Volkswagen’s workers, among others – the ninth-generation Golf silhouette shows the new model will meld the proportions of the current petrol-powered car with some cues from the ID.3 EV.
This includes a slightly longer bonnet than the ID.3 with a more traditional overall shape, despite the packaging requirements of an EV being far different from the current petrol-powered Golf.
Little is known about the new Golf, other than it’ll be built in Wolfsburg on the upcoming Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), however a launch date is yet to be formally announced, with previous reports suggesting an initial debut of 2027 was pushed back to 2028 – and even 2029 has been rumoured.
Volkswagen Golf GTI, Golf R to live on with petrol power
While it is a landmark model for Volkswagen and in the history of the Golf, the arrival of the Mk9 EV won’t come at the cost of petrol-powered Golfs in the German brand’s lineup.
Instead, the current Mk8.5 Golf’s production will move to Mexico from 2027, and likely be the new home of the traditional Golf GTI.
Speaking to Auto Express in January, Sebastian Willmann, the current head of chassis development and driving dynamics for Volkswagen, simply answered “no” when asked if the Mk8.5 Golf GTI would be the last iteration of the performance icon with a petrol engine.
Currently compliant with Euro 6 emissions standards, Willmann said Volkswagen will “bring the engine up [to] Euro 7”, confirming the EA888 turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder will live on.
The future of the Golf R is also looking bright, with the executive saying there’s “some room for improvement” for the all-wheel drive hero, before adding, “let’s see what, over time, is possible”.
Hot hatch hero to get special send-off
“In Volkswagen we must deliver on all aspects. We need efficient cars, we need performance cars – like the Golf R or the GTI – and we need some cheaper cars and cars which are positioned higher. The big volume [segment] is profiting from all these aspects – like the Golf always did.”
Willmann’s comments also reflect a change from those made by Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer, who in 2024 said the Golf R would exclusively be based on the SSP EV architecture.
As reported last year, a special edition of the Volkswagen Golf R will send off the petrol-powered all-wheel drive hot hatch by adopting the turbocharged five-cylinder engine from the Audi RS3.
Volkswagen has been spied testing an even hotter Golf R at the Nürburgring, suggesting development of the five-pot powered model is well advanced.