First ride: Volkswagen Golf eR1 electric prototype

Volkswagen Motorsport hasn’t revealed too many details about the car’s technical systems, although it uses a twin motor layout that offers all-wheel-drive. While the twin motor powertrain eventually used in the ID R offers 671bhp, the one in the eR1 isn’t as powerful, with sources suggesting it’s somewhere close to 500bhp. The car is able to run in two-wheel-drive mode using the front motor only.

Having been fortunate enough to see the ID R in action setting a number of its records, I was prepared for the rapid acceleration the twin motor setup would offer – and it didn’t disappoint. While it didn’t have the full power of the hillclimb machine, it was still plenty powerful for a car of this size. With all four wheels driven and that electric torque instantly available, the eR1 offers predictably rapid acceleration, with the help of studded tyres to lessen wheel spin on the frozen ice circuit.

The eR1’s Volkswagen Golf chassis was built for Tarmac tracks rather than frozen ice circuits, and its low ride height did cause some issues: after each run the team was forced to scoop vast amounts of churned-up snow out of the eR1’s front spoiler.

For our test run we took to the circuit behind a production Porsche Taycan that was also giving passenger rides. And, as driver Benny Leuchter – who has raced a Golf TCR in the World Touring Car Cup – excitedly noted, the eR1 was able to catch the Taycan down the straights. 

Other than about the car’s acceleration, it was hard to draw too many more conclusions on such a short run. The Zell am See ice track is essentially a large triangle, with three straights linked by three tight turns, and offered few real clues as to the machine’s handling or dynamic potential.

Still, the Golf eR1 did offer further proof that, contrary to some beliefs, electric performance cars won’t be silent. From the inside the distinctive whine of the twin electric motors was surprisingly loud, offering immediate aural feedback as to how hard Leuchter was pushing the throttle. Yet it remained quiet enough that you could hear the sound of churned-up ice and slush hitting the underside of the Golf as it attacked the cut-up surface.

What does the Golf eR1 mean for future electric Volkswagen machines?

The Golf eR1 is best described as an ambassador for Vokswagen’s vision of electric performance cars, rather than as a sign of how that vision will look. The firm has been clear that all future full electric cars will be members of the ID family, with the Golf line reserved for combustion-engined and hybrid models.

While the Golf eR1 is based on a TCR touring car, Volkswagen insists it isn’t a test car for the planned eTCR electric tin-top championship due to launch later this year, and in which Cupra and Hyundai are also fielding combatants. Volkswagen Motorsport does have interest in producing customer cars for that category, but any such machines will be ID models based on the electric MEB platform.