Watch this Electric Beetle Conquer the Welsh Countryside

I’m sensitive to the fact that some people may call this sacrilege. The air cooled flat four is such a big part of Volkswagen lore that its disappearance marks the distinction between the classic and modern eras of VW. That said, there’s something appealing about replacing it with an electric motor.

First and foremost, classic cars look great. Secondly, they’re light. And thirdly, they’re simple, so adding a new drivetrain is relatively (massive emphasis) simple.

The Fully Charged Show has now released a video on YouTube about Electric Classic Cars’ electric classic Beetle.

The Beetle has been restored and then had an electric motor bolted in. The motor powers the wheels through the stock transmission, weirdly, and will get this old-timer up to 60 in just 8 seconds (which we know isn’t all that quick for an electric Beetle).

The Beetle wooshes as quietly as you’d expect and according to Richard Morgan, of Electric Classic Cars, it’ll do 100 miles on a charge.

As the video brings up, there’s something particularly of the moment about an electric Beetle, given Volkswagen’s electric ambitions.

My only real gripe about this car is the sticker on the back window that says “100% electric.” Clearly Electric Classic Cars has gone to great trouble to make this Beetle look as stock as possible, so putting a sticker in the window to let people know it’s electric feels counterproductive at best and preachy at worst.

Otherwise, though, I’m sold on the idea of an electric Beetle. But what about a modern electric Beetle? Should the next Beetle skip MQB and go straight to MEB? What do you think?

The post Watch this Electric Beetle Conquer the Welsh Countryside appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2d6hma4
via IFTTT

Comments

2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster Review

“Supercars just don’t excite me anymore.” These words, spoken to me over a month ago by another journalist, friend, and (so-called) enthusiast were echoing in my head for far too long, but they’ve finally been drowned out. Drowned out by the wail of a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine mounted in the middle of the new Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster. My friend’s point is that back in the good old days, there was a crop of supercars that captured the imagination with amazing style, sounds, performance, and more. Today, it seems like everything is capable of supercar performance, with large luxury sedans outdoing some of the best and most dedicated teams of car nuts, while former pillars of automotive excellence are suddenly pumping out family-friendly SUVs. Beyond that, another league of supercars, dubbed hypercars have cropped up with hybrid gas-electric powertrains that make magical things happen quickly, but at the cost of the acoustic drama, visual flair, and engag...

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier. The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow. While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something . To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it. Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait. So with this in mind, we lined our G...

Event Report: Southern Worthersee 2015

There’s been much ado about this year’s SoWo since this past Saturday night, when Instagram, Facebook and other Social Media channels exploded with images and commentary focusing on the event’s bad eggs. But first, let’s chat a bit about the event itself. Our journey started early Thursday morning as part of the Orchid Euro/Coolwater cruise to the event. What should have taken about 12-13 hours ended up taking much more, as we stopped to help any Volkswagen that needed our assistance. And while the extended commute time wasn’t ideal, it proved to highlight the ‘no person left behind’ spirit of the Volkswagen community- arguably one of the scene’s best qualities. On Friday and Saturday, the town was flooded with enthusiasts, making this year’s event without a doubt the largest yet. Attendees came from as far as California, Mexico City, and event a few straight from the original Wörthersee in Austria, and for most it was well worth the trip. The quality o...

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog