New VW Golf GTI Trademark Patent Clearly Hints New Electric Direction

Eighth-gen VW Golf GTI.

As reported prior, the VW Golf, as well as both its hot GTI and R flavours, are set to go all-electric in their next generation form. Also, a new trademark patent filed by the German automaker recently seems to confirm this too.

Filed recently by Volkswagen is a tweaked version of the familiar GTI emblem, which sees the letter ‘I’ – which stands for ‘Injection’ – replaced with a lightning bolt symbol. Volkswagen hasn’t officially commented on the matter, but it’s plain to see how said symbol is pretty self-explanatory.

VW filed a patent for this tweaked version of the famed GTI performance badge. The 'I' has been replaced with a lightning bolt symbol, likely hinting the new electric direction the marque is taking.

This patent was filed late last month before it was discovered by sources online. The timing of this patent filing comes just before the current eighth generation Golf range – hot GTI and hotter R variants included – are set to undergo a mid-life refresh this year.

Whilst there is no guarantee that this tweaked GTI emblem will be used in future concepts or production-bound models, the fact that VW registered to protect this design is a very telling move. If anything, it more or less confirms the electrified direction the German marque is embracing behind closed doors.

Existing GTI badge as seen in the current eighth-gen VW Golf GTI hot hatch.

Besides the GTI performance badge, VW uses the GTD badge moniker for oil-burning diesel-powered variants, GTE for plug-in hybrids, and GTX for fully-electric variants. Aside from these comes the single-lettered R badge that’s reserved for high performance models.

For this new badge featuring the lightning bolt symbol, we can perhaps expect to see it used in an upcoming all-electric hot-hatch concept based on the ID.2all concept that’s reportedly in the works. Another speculation is that the badge will replace the existing GTX moniker.

Eighth-gen VW Golf R, which is set to be announced as a CKD model soon.

Presently, the eighth generation Golf model is sold in Malaysia only in GTI and R forms, the former variant being assembled locally (CKD) and recently updated to feature VW’s IQ.Drive active driver assist suite. The R variant is set to be inducted into local assembly too ahead of a formal introduction this month.