VW launches new ID.3 GTX Fire & Ice

It’s probably fair to say  the ID.3 GTX is missing something. Even if we’re prepared to overlook the absence of a revvy four-cylinder engine (tall order), Volkswagen’s idea of an electric hot hatch isn’t the sort of prospect that has customers running into showrooms, chequebook in hand, clamouring to be front of the queue. Probably the new limited edition Fire and Ice isn’t going to fix that – but at least the firm is acknowledging that the basic concept needs a helping hand. And what better way than getting all retro with it? 

Granted, it might have picked a better subject to riff off, given the Mk2 Fire and Ice was (we think) a Germany-only special edition, and therefore not universally deserving of the ‘cult classic’ status VW has foisted on it – but we’ve decided to shout about it on the basis that a) the original featured a notoriously hilarious (and very ‘90s) interior, and b) its existence owes something to forgotten Roger Moore shocker, Fire, Ice and Dynamite, which was made mostly to advertise various bits of Bogner paraphernalia. 

Bogner, you ask? Well, back in the day that signified Willy Bogner, the man who directed Moore in what sounds very much like an Alpine-based rip-off of Brewster’s Millions. But he was also the heir to the Munich-based fashion brand (hence the product placement) that is still famous for pricey skiwear. Accordingly, you get some natty material choices inside inspired by quilted jackets, along with ‘Firey’ Flame red and ‘cool’ Floxal blue touches on the sports seats – though not nearly to the extent of the hallucinogenic Mk2. 

If that back story sounds more interesting than the car itself (the film apparently featured cameos by Steffi Graf, Niki Lauda and Buzz Aldrin among others) then you’re not wrong. But that doesn’t mean the ultra-violet metallic paint won’t appeal to some. You also get diamond-turned 20-inch Locarno alloys, red roof strips in anodised paint and, on the roof spoiler, the original ‘90s Fire & Ice logo. 

Any car that links to a film in which Moore fakes his own death by nose diving out of a private plane ought to feature at least 500hp – sadly, the GTX is as previously advertised: you get 326hp from the electric motor, which is sufficient to get the car from zero to 62mph in 5.7 seconds, though not necessarily enough to make you feel happy about being alive, despite the modestly uprated chassis. Or the fundamentally worthy 367-mile combined WLTP range. 

Owing to the fact that the ID.3 GTX Fire & Ice was initially revealed as a show-based novelty at the ID. Meeting in Locarno, Switzerland, last year, VW claims the production version is the result of an ‘overwhelming’ response – sufficiently overwhelming for the manufacturer to commit to building 1,990 examples. For Bogner fans, perhaps this seems like a no-brainer; for UK-based customers, it is conceivable that total mastery of the single raised eyebrow might be required to get onboard with the £48,360 asking price. It is available to order from Thursday.