With many concept cars these days being finished in demure neutral tones, it feels like it’s been a while since a manufacturer’s gone full-on “Pimp My Ride” by starting with an over-the-top idea and executing it beautifully. Well, the Volkswagen ID.3 GTX Fire + Ice does just that, by pairing the fundamentals of a classic special edition with modern concept car attention to detail.
First, a history lesson: Back at the turn of the 1990s, Volkswagen collaborated with a clothing company named Bogner to leverage the branding of an outerwear line with a special Golf featuring deep purple paint and a blue and magenta interior that’s just as wild as it sounds. At first, Volkswagen only planned on making 10,000 Fire and Ice Golfs, but it ended up building 16,700 to satisfy customer demand. That’s right, there was a time when 16,700 people voted with their wallets in favor of blue and magenta upholstery.
Seeking to revive some of this whimsy, Volkswagen has collaborated once again with fashion brand Bogner, this time on a one-off ID.3 GTX concept for the brand’s annual ID. show in Switzerland, and man, does it ever take things to an entirely new level with an absolutely bonkers paint job.
It all starts with a dark blue base coat, onto which a repeating pattern and a color-shifting layer are sprayed. The resulting three-stage paint job shifts from blue to violet to black, all while showing off repeating motifs. Add in a matching set of dark blue wheels with silver accents, and that’s ice just about taken care of on the outside. So, what about fire?
Well, the ID.3 GTX is already pretty spicy, and this one’s the Performance trim that cranks out 322 horsepower and dashes from zero-to-62 mph in a claimed 5.6 seconds. To contrast the cool colors of the paintwork, Volkswagen painted this model’s badges and anodized the roof trims in a loud red. On just about any other car, this treatment would be as subtle as a sledgehammer to your lower back, but given the megawatt-loud paint on this concept, it actually works.
On the inside of the ID.3 GTX Fire + Ice, things seem to calm down a bit — but do they? Sure, the orange and blue accents on the front seats are subtle compared to the exterior, and the pedals have symbols for flames and snow stamped into them, but look closely and you’ll notice that the front seats have zippers. Pull each zipper and you’ll reveal original ’90s-spec Fire + Ice magenta and blue colors, like Clark Kent going Superman mode. It’s a novel touch, and one perfectly suited to a one-off like this.
Unfortunately, the ID.3 GTX Fire + Ice isn’t headed to production, but hopefully Volkswagen will have fun like this in the future on a more accessible scale. Bringing back some of the louder special editions from the past could keep things fresh in showrooms for a substantially lower cost than a full-on facelift, and that’s a tantalizing prospect for automakers and consumers alike.
(Photo credits: Volkswagen)
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