Skip to main content

Report: The VW Microbus to Return, Appeal to Hippies as EV

Details about the second vehicle in Volkswagen’s upcoming fleet of battery electric vehicles are slowly taking shape, and it looks like it will be a seven-passenger van based on the company’s historic microbus.

1958-Volkswagen-Deluxe-Microbus_269863_low_res

The second electric vehicle—call it the Electric Type 2, for simplicity’s sake—will share the MEB platform that underpins VW’s ID concept. That concept, which premiered at the Paris Auto Show, is the first car confirmed for the MEB platform.

Like the ID, the Electric Type 2, will power the rear wheels from an engine placed between those same wheels. Energy will come from flat batteries housed under the body.

DB2016AL01902

The Electric Type 2, though, will be longer and wider than the ID to fit its seven passengers, and thus will be able to store more batteries. According to a report from Autocar, it will have a range of up to 500 km (310 miles).

Despite being bigger than the ID, the new microbus is rumored to be more than 15 inches smaller (from the outside) than the current Multivan. At 4,900 mm (193 inches), it’s only about 4 inches longer than the current Passat.

VW-ID-Concept-1

That jives with what VW has been saying about the MEB platform. Thanks to its layout—rear-engine with flat batteries—there’s more room inside for passengers, much like the original, air cooled VWs.

Just what it will look like remains to be seen, but Autocar reports that it will feature many microbus-like cues. That’s to say that it will have a vertical windshield, a bluff front, a straight back, and a curbside sliding door.

The Electric Type 2 would be the second of five EVs that VW has promised as the initial vehicles in its electric onslaught. As a result, it would be endowed with all of the companies latest infotainment and autonomous driving functions.

[source: Autocar]

The post Report: The VW Microbus to Return, Appeal to Hippies as EV appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2hvTUFF
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more