Reborn Volkswagen Microbus Headed to Production: Report
If we’re to believe a source inside Volkswagen, 2022 could bring a new-age Summer of Love.
The company’s latest Microbus concept — 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 bus.
VW’s all-electric I.D. Buzz concept, which debuted at the Detroit 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.
ALSO SEE: Volkswagen ID Buzz Concept Debuts as Microbus of the Future
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.
This story originally appeared on TTAC.com
More by Steph Willems
Comments
Join the conversation
Like the original beetle makeover in the late 1990's Volkswagen had a new concept in the works to bring back the original microbus as like the revamped beetle it would be modernized while staying true to the roots as those demand a hybrid or a low emissions gasoline engine as like the original it would be rear engined rear wheel drive.