New Volkswagen California camper will put an end to a VW van life era

The Volkswagen California 6.1 was never the best-looking California in history, dragged down by its oversized double-stacked grille, but it did usher in its fair share of new innovations to the iconic nameplate. Now, Volkswagen is preparing it for retirement, starting production on a 1,500-model "Last Edition" that will see the 6.1 era out and welcome in the innovative new California T7, set to debut in just a few weeks.

Volkswagen introduced the T6.1 Transporter van in 2019. The California 6.1 camper van and reimagined California Beach 6.1 sleeper van followed just months later, as did the inevitable market surge of aftermarket T6.1-based camper vans. A mere mid-cycle refresh, the T6.1 wasn't exactly a groundbreaking leap forward, but the California lineup did see some impressive additions during the 6.1 update, including a recliner bed lounge, smart home control, and the very first kitchen to feature in the Beach light camper, a clever single-burner that folded away into the door panel.

As usual, some of the most compelling camper layouts and components to grace this latest VW Transporter generation came not from Volkswagen itself but from the throngs of German and global VW camper conversion specialists.

There were expedition-ready modular off-roaders, beautifully appointed city slickers, rustic retreats and indoor/outdoor transformers, just to recall a few.

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We may seem overly nostalgic for the sunset of a simple V.1 camper refresh that was only around for a quick half-decade, but the passing of the torch from T6.1 to T7 represents a larger generational shift in the history of VW camper vans. Since its introduction in 1988, the California has been built atop Volkswagen's Transporter van platform, beginning with the unmistakable T3 that combined 80s boxiness with a last-of-its-kind hoodless rear-engine profile.

The Transporter will now move over to a Ford platform, becoming something of a VW-badged Transit Custom, and the California will bid it adieu to make home exclusively on the VW-built T7 Multivan MPV. Volkswagen showed a near-production concept version of the new T7 California at last year's Düsseldorf Caravan Salon, and if the production camper follows the concept to a T (pun recognized, though not intended), it promises to be the biggest leap forward for a California in quite a while.

Messe Düsseldorf/ Constanze Tillmann

The most dramatic layout change from California 6.1 to California Concept (T7) was the introduction of a driver-side sliding door to complement the passenger-side slider. That opened up more convenient ingress and egress for rear passengers and inspired Volkswagen to create a new indoor/outdoor kitchen design for cooking flexibility at camp.

The removable touchscreen command tablet was another addition that could prove quite valuable, assuming it doesn't end up on the concept-to-production chopping block, as touchscreen systems have in the past.

While the driver-side redesign marks the greatest floor plan change, the California Concept's biggest addition overall comes on the available powertrain list. Volkswagen said at last year's Düsseldorf premiere that the production California T7 would be available with all existing Multivan powertrains, marking the launch of the first California PHEV. The Multivan is offered with a 215-hp eHybrid drive that pulls 30 miles (50 km) of range out of a 13-kWh battery via a 114-hp electric motor. A 1.4-liter TSI engine kicks on to add power, range and refueling flexibility.

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A plug-in California is doubly good news now that Volkswagen has cooled on launching an all-electric ID. Buzz camper van. As first reported by Autocar, VW Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) sales and marketing chief Lars Krause said last month that Volkswagen still has plans for an ID. Buzz camper van but it won't come until later this decade. Dismissing previous reports that weight was the issue, Krause pointed to lack of demand for all-electric campers. The California T7 PHEV will essentially serve as a stepping stone into electrified Volkswagen RVs, VWCV CEO Carsten Intra added.

Volkswagen plans to host the digital world premiere of the California T7 on May 7. Before the T7 hits production this summer, though, VW will send off the California 6.1 with a "Last Edition" series of 1,500 camper vans. It doesn't sound like the vans will be all that much different from other California 6.1s, outside of wearing a badge on their B-pillars.

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The time elapsed between the 2021 introduction of the Mulitvan T7 and this year's debut of the California T7 camper van has taken much longer than the T6 to California T6 or T6.1 to California 6.1, owing to the greater VW Commercial Vehicles van line shakeup and Ford partnership. In the meantime, VW has launched a simple sleeper conversion for the T7, and several full T7 camper vans and camper kits have already debuted from third-party manufacturers.

Still, the 2023 California Concept suggests that the official Volkswagen camper rendition of the newest Multivan will prove well worth the wait. We look forward to reporting on it on May 7.

Source: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles