Skip to main content

Reborn Volkswagen Microbus Headed to Production: Report

If we’re to believe a source inside Volkswagen, 2022 could bring a latter-day Summer of Love.

The company’s latest Microbus concept — the eye-rollingly named I.D. Buzz — might not stay a concept for long, an insider claims, stirring hope in eco-conscious Germanophiles and fans of the original hippie wagon.

VW’s all-electric I.D. Buzz concept, which debuted at the North American International Auto Show, is in the running as a possible future model spawned from the company’s common EV architecture. The first model, the compact I.D. hatchback, is due out in 2020. More electric models should follow as VW pushes ahead with its long-term green car plan.

Autodesk VRED Professional 2017 SP1

According to Automotive News Europe, the Buzz/Microbus concept has a strong supporter in the company’s upper echelons. VW brand chief Herbert Diess is reportedly a fan.

When prodded about the I.D. Buzz, a company source stated, “I know what you’re going to ask and the answer is 2022. Diess wants it.”

Now, before you quit your job, grow out your hair, stock up on tie-dyed shirts and dust off the Procol Harum LP, remember the plight of the on-again, off-again Microbus Concept of 2001, which finally bit the dust after years of production assurances from VW. That’s not to say that it won’t stick to its guns this time, but the passage of time has a way of changing a company’s plans. Five years can be an eternity.

However, if it does happen, the company’s dedicated EV platform and electric components would make for the truest recreation of the original Type 1 Microbus, as well as the greenest. Time will tell if the I.D. Buzz becomes another unrealized tangerine dream.

[source: Automotive News]

This article first appeared on thetruthaboutcars.com

The post Reborn Volkswagen Microbus Headed to Production: Report appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2iFuyt6
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

T-Prime Makes World Premiere at Beijing

[ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The SUV segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the world and Volkswagen is showing the world how to do it. With the new T-Prime Concept GTE that was revealed today, the company is showing off all of the technology you can look for in its coming models. The T-Prime is a full-size hybrid SUV that can go up to 31 miles on a charge and gets 87 mpg. The hybrid power station is good for 375 hp and 516 lb/ft of torque and puts the power down with 4MOTION all wheel drive. It’ll get you up to 60 in six seconds. The concept’s real party piece, though, is its interior, which features exclusively touch, gesture, and voice controls. Everything from the infotainment, to the display, and even the gears are controlled by touch-screen. The T-Prime Concept GTE is bigger than the Touareg, and design elements are likely to find their way into all of their SUVs, of which there will be many. Volkswagen is also announcing that they expect to make an S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Audi Teases the e-tron’s Headlights Ahead of LA Reveal

Audi will unveil its new electric car, the e-tron GT, in just a few short days, but until then, it will do what manufacturers can’t help but do and will tease it mercilessly. The latest teaser images first appeared on Germany’s Bild , and feature some of the EV’s lighting. While the taillights look reasonably familiar, albeit on an interesting, angular surface, the headlights feature a heretofore unseen light shape. The X-shape (or maybe an R-shape, from the right angle) in the middle of the e-tron GT’s headlights set it apart from the rest of the lineup, even the e-tron SUV (whose lights look R8-ish with their angular check-shaped top line.) #Sneak Peek: the #Audi #etron GT concept – stay tuned for the big #world #premiere on November 28. pic.twitter.com/NIg0z6bIwR — AUDI AG (@Audi_Press) November 25, 2018 The long and low sedan will be based on the same platform as the Porsche Taycan, which is said to hit 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds and whose batteries will all be stowed...
Post a Comment
Read more