Volkswagen has applied to trademark a revised version of its iconic GTI logo, replacing the final letter with a lightning bolt. Check out the proposed new emblem here…

Wondering if Volkswagen’s iconic GTI logo will live on the electric era? Well, a fresh trademark application from Volkswagen suggests the badge will indeed survive, though with an interesting twist.

Uncovered by the eagle-eyed online sleuths over at CarBuzz, the trademark application was filed with the German Patent and Trademark Office (known in Germany as the Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt or DPMA) on 25 July 2023. How does the proposed emblem differ from the current version? Well, the final letter of the 3-part initialism – which, of course, stands for “Grand Touring Injection” – is replaced with a lightning bolt.

The proposed new GTI logo, as uploaded to the DPMA website.

As the US-based publication points out, this suggests the redesigned badge – which traces its history back to 1976 when it was applied to the Mk1 Golf – could be used either on partially electrified or fully electric vehicles. As a reminder, VW earlier reserved the GTX badge for performance versions of its battery-powered vehicles, first applying it to the ID.4 and later the ID.5.

However, Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand, suggested to Autocar towards the end of 2022 that the Wolfsburg-based automaker “might not need” the GTX moniker in future, instead stressing the importance of retaining the GTI and R badges. For the record, VW’s R division plans to offer only fully electric vehicles by 2030.

At the time, Schäfer furthermore confirmed VW had no plans to kill off the Golf name, effectively confirming a Golf 9 would be on the way. As a reminder, the Golf 8 debuted in October 2019 and is set for a mid-cycle update relatively soon.

The current GTI logo, as applied to the Golf 8.

“There is a connection with VW and ID, and there is no need to cancel [the latter]. We have iconic brand names, Golf and GTI. It would be crazy to let them die and slip away. We will stick with the ID logic but iconic models will carry a name,” Schäfer told the British publication at the time, adding a moniker such as “ID Golf” was by no means out of the question.

Currently, the GTI badge is applied only to the Golf 8 and the locally produced Polo hatchback, with production of the Up GTI having reportedly ended earlier in 2023.

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