ID.4

Make
Volkswagen
Segment
SUV

A car company CEO can be the hardest worker at the rumor mill. This situation happened recently when Ford boss Jim Farley tweeted about the possibility of the Puma coming to North America, even though he is precisely the person who could make that happen. A few weeks on and Volkswagen's CEO is teasing us with another tantalizing prospect: a convertible ID.3 electric car.

Ralf Brandstatter, Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, posted about the supposed ID.3 convertible on LinkedIn. "An ID.3 convertible? Sounds quite appealing: enjoying nature with the top down, with the instant but silent electric punch. This could provide an entirely new, extraordinary feeling of freedom," the CEO said.

"I admit: a very tempting idea. We are still pondering how to turn this attractive concept into reality. Just in case, our design team has already sketched out some initial ideas," he added. "The most exciting question: what do YOU think? Would electric driving and an open-air-experience make a perfect match?"

Brandstatter wasn't the only VW executive to comment on the idea of a drop-top ID.3. "Quiet, smooth, open: We're thinking about an e-convertible, maybe an #VWID3 convertible," VW Group CEO Herbert Diess posted on Twitter. "What do you think?"

The two CEOs posted renderings showing what the ID.3 Convertible could look like. It reminds us a lot of the old Rabbit Convertible and Eos, both of which were based on the Golf hatchback. Creating a convertible ID.3 wouldn't be too much of a challenge considering the car's MEB architecture is highly scalable.

If the ID.3 Convertible does get the green light, we aren't sure if it would be sold in the United States. The standard ID.3 isn't offered here; instead, we receive the Volkswagen ID.4 crossover. We think the MEB's rear-wheel-drive architecture could make for a fun convertible, but it would need more unique styling to succeed in the US. Perhaps the rumored electric Thing successor could offer the US market an affordable open-top experience with a little off-road capability.