Could the VW ID.7 GTX Be Right for US Shoppers?

• Volkswagen ID.7 GTX sedan and wagon debut in Europe this summer, giving VW a more powerful dual-motor sedan and wagon duo with 335 hp on tap, with power coming from a larger 86-kWh battery.

• No plans for the GTX sedan or wagon (in any trim) have been voiced by VW for North America, and VW has postponed the launch of the base ID.7 sedan in the US indefinitely that was originally scheduled to take place this year, with no ETA currently provided.

• The ID.7 station wagon will remain in Europe even when the ID.7 sedan arrives stateside at some point, VW has indicated, with the automaker declining to introduce this bodystyle in an EV in North America.

The ID.7 isn't even headed to our side of the Atlantic yet, but European markets are already getting a spicier version of Volkswagen's electric sedan. The ID.7 GTX, revealed earlier this year, will go on sale in the UK in a matter of weeks along with its longroof twin.

The ID.7 GTX, set to be offered solely in dual-motor form, will serve up a combined 335 hp with a larger 86-kWh (91 kWh gross) battery providing the power. Among other things, this will make it the most powerful sedan VW currently offers, while allowing it to make the sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 5.4 seconds.

The ID.7 Tourer, meanwhile, will be almost as quick, making the same sprint in 5.5 seconds.

The ID.7 GTX and its Tourer sibling will get redesigned front and rear fascias, LED matrix headlights with illuminated VW logos, and 20-inch Skagen alloy wheels with diamond-cut surfaces instead of the standard 19-inch wheels. On the inside, the GTX flavor will feature a steering wheel with a red center and stitching, and seats with red contrasting stitching and logos.

When it comes to charging, the ID.7 GTX will be able to get juiced up from 10 to 80% in 26 minutes at up to 200 kW, the automaker notes.

Just how much will fans of quick sedans have to shell out for the GTX flavor across the pond?

The UK-market model will have a starting price of £61,980, which translates to about $79,543 at the current exchange rate.

Needless to say, this is UK-market pricing without various state and federal incentives we could see with this model stateside, so it's not quite an apples to apples comparison. But it may point to just how likely the US is to receive the ID.7 GTX sedan or something like it in the longer term, given the expectation that the base ID.7 model stateside, whenever it arrives, could start around the $50,000 mark with a 77-kWh battery underneath.

However, a non-GTX version with a dual-motor layout was going to offered stateside, according to recent VW plans, and could still be.

"The ID.7 will be offered stateside in two trims—Pro S and Pro S Plus—with an 82 kWh battery and 282 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque on rear-wheel drive models; all-wheel-drive models will have maximum horsepower of 335," VW said in March of this year, before the ID.7 was delayed.

In effect, the US could receive something quite similar to the GTX in substance if not in name, without the GTX badging.

If the $50,000 base expected target price holds, this will place it far closer to a moderately well-optioned Tesla Model 3 than the amount GTX version will require.

VW revealed earlier in March that the base ID.7 would not appear stateside in 2024, and did not mention just when we could hope to see this model. This will leave the ID.4 as the sole battery-electric offering prior to the (delayed) arrival of the ID.Buzz, thus leaving a bit of a price and bodystyle gap in Volkswagen's electric lineup.

This could eventually be a problem for VW, as sales of the ID.4 stateside experienced a bit of a drop earlier this year. The electric SUV has been updated for 2024, at least lightly, but it's clear that at some point VW will need more than one truly volume model stateside with the ID.Buzz expected to be a bit of a pricey, lifestyle offering rather than an everyday family truckster.

VW pointed to strong demand in Europe as one of the factors that will keep the ID.7 sedan over there for a while longer. We also suspect that the enduring popularity of the Tesla Model 3 and its Performance variant perhaps played a role in VW's decision as well, especially when compared to the small number of other comparable electric sedans (and their sales fortunes) stateside at the moment.

Should VW offer the a sportier version of the ID.7 in the US once the base model arrives, or could it ultimately be too pricey given competitors' offerings? Let us know what you think in the comments below.