GTI DCC chassis. The newly developed chassis has been tuned to the high power and performance of a GTI. The aim here was to develop a particularly agile, high-precision chassis system that is still completely suitable for everyday use. The basic layout of the GTI chassis comprises a MacPherson front axle and a torsion beam rear axle. The interaction between these two new axles is characterised by maximum linearity – vehicle handling that feeds back to the driver with ultimate precision. Both axles in the ID. Polo GTI are coupled as standard to the electronically controlled DCC system – an adaptive shock absorber control system. The vehicle handling characteristics are perfected by a standard-equipment front differential lock, which also used in the Golf GTI models. The interaction of all components in the new ID. Polo GTI ensures an extraordinarily wide spread between maximum sportiness and high comfort. Another exciting aspect is the way in which the compact sports car masters maximum lateral dynamics in bends in an almost playful way. As a result, the ID. Polo GTI offers pure driving pleasure. The new one-box brake system with disc brakes on the front and rear axles ensures optimum deceleration. The braking force is extremely easy to control. The system is very light and offers efficient recuperation performance.
The MacPherson front axle in the GTI. The ID. Polo GTI uses a MacPherson axle at the front. The characteristics of the axle are perfected by a rigid, optimum connection between the anti-roll bar and a subframe. Integrated into the MacPherson struts of the GTI: the DCC shock absorbers. With their innovative control, they have a positive effect on both driving dynamics and ride comfort. Specific suspension strut mountings optimise the response time at the same time. The specification of the front axle was also defined for the ID. Polo GTI through various other individual measures. This includes modifications in the area of the wheel bearing housing, anti-roll bar, brake system and the progressive steering equipped as standard in the GTI.
The torsion beam rear axle in the GTI. Volkswagen has also carefully refined the lightweight torsion beam rear axle for the ID. Polo GTI. Thanks to the specific axle beam, for example, the rear axle has become stiffer and vehicle handling even more precise. In addition to the controlled DCC shock absorbers, new GTI springs are used. The brakes on the rear axle have also been adapted. In general, details such as bonded rubber pads on the coil springs optimise comfort and acoustics for the ID. Polo’s torsion beam rear axle. A passive damper weight significantly reduces low-frequency rolling noise in the interior. Inclined axle locating mounts with innovative two-component technology also reduce noise and vibrations and ensure improved axle guidance, increasing driving stability.
DCC control in detail. The ID. Polo’s DCC adaptive chassis control continuously responds to the road surface and driving situation. The chassis can be individually configured by the driver using the set driving profile – Eco, Comfort, Sport, Individual and GTI mode. The spectrum here ranges from comfort-oriented to an extremely dynamic setup. In each of the driving profiles, the required damping is calculated for each wheel in fractions of a second and adjusted at the GTI shock absorbers. Adjustment of the wheel-specific damping ensures particularly agile and precise handling.
The front differential lock in detail. The GTI is the only ID. Polo to feature the electronically controlled front differential lock. Compared with fully mechanical differential locks, the GTI differential lock offers benefits such as variable locking rates – coordinated with the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and the electronic differential lock (XDS) functions. This makes it possible to avoid the kind of negative influences on steering precision that occur with mechanical locks. The lock uses a multiplate clutch to optimise traction and handling in fast corners. The main effect of the differential lock is that it can distribute the drive torque asymmetrically to both front wheels as soon as the ID. Polo GTI’s front wheel on the inside of the bend reaches the speed level of the outer wheel under drive load. The front differential lock and its torque vectoring effect maximise traction, optimise performance and create even more neutral handling.
A quintessential GTI. The ID. Polo GTI’s DCC sports chassis delivers a bonafide GTI driving experience in combination with the very high torsional stiffness in the body of approx. 30,000 N/° (plus 50 per cent compared with the Polo with combustion engine), the front-wheel drive via the electronically controlled differential lock and the standard-equipment progressive steering. With its drive and vehicle handling characteristics, the electric compact sports car is more like a current Golf GTI than the Polo GTI discontinued in 2026.