We've seen some tiny campers here over the years, fascinating micro contraptions that mash together mobility and living quarters in seemingly impossible ways. But we've never seen anything quite as tiny as the newest member of Volkswagen's storied camper van fleet. Shrunken down to model railroad size, this ID. Buzz is much more than a toy model; thanks to the addition of an equally vintage-inspired, color-matched teardrop trailer, it's also the smallest moving vehicle in an exhibit dedicated entirely to miniatures.
One of the great things about writing for a site like New Atlas is you never quite know what kind of wondrous piece of innovation is going to pop into your inbox on any given morning. I certainly never expected to find a tiny, working camper duo consisting of a Volkswagen ID. Buzz camper bus and a teardrop trailer to appear in my messages, but there it was on this gorgeous, sunny Thursday morning.
Volkswagen set about developing a 1:87 scale ID. Buzz for display at the Miniatur Wunderland museum in Hamburg. One of Germany's most popular tourist attractions, pulling in over 1 million people a year, the museum is home to a sprawling model railroad that holds the Guinness record as the world's largest. More than 16 kilometers (10 miles) of model track wind through various model towns and regions, including the fictional hamlet of Knuffingen, which was chosen as the home for the all-new micro ID. Buzz.
While the VW Commercial Vehicles team in Hanover is quite adept at manufacturing life-size ID. Buzz vans, it isn't so skilled at making 1/87-size minis. Instead, Volkswagen worked with the expert technicians at Miniatur Wunderland to tackle the unique challenge of sizing Volkswagen's e-bus down to fractional handheld size. The target was to create not just a Buzz-shaped statue but a moving scale example powered by the same electricity that drives the actual van, albeit scaled down from a 400-volt architecture to a 4-volt platform.
The team immediately found itself unable to fit the necessary wiring and electrical hardware into the 1:87-scale minivan, working around the issue by expanding interior space via a suitcase-loaded roof rack on top and a color-matched teardrop trailer in tow. Not only did this provide the space necessary for the electricals, it made perfect sense as a grand touring tandem ready to spend the night at campgrounds across the miniature world.
If anything, the addition of a perfectly sculpted teardrop, seemingly based on the timeless silhouette of a T@b 320, makes the working exhibit that much more lovable. Actual camping trailers are often electrically connected to their tow vehicle, so even if the wires are slightly more prominent on this tiny reworking, it's still representative of real life.
It took the team nearly 200 hours of work to create the lifelike tiny camping tandem, and from what we can see, they completed the mission with aplomb.
The Buzzy, little tourer has found its home in Knuffingen, which lies in the model valley between the Harz and Alps Mountains. One of the oldest and largest towns at Miniatur Wunderland, Knuffingen ties into Germany's rich automotive history with a working traffic system that includes 400 moving vehicles, and the ID. Buzz debuts as the smallest of the lot.
During its travels, presumably in the midst of a grand intercontinental tour, the ID. Buzz miniature even stops at a tiny charging station, relying on intelligent control electronics to get their safely and efficiently. Its tiny onboard batteries then charge for the 30 minutes it takes the full-size ID. Buzz to charge to 80% before continuing its journey.
Miniature Wunderland is recording the distance the little camper tandem travels and converting it to scale to compare with the mileage Volkswagen has traveled in the real ID. Buzz. As part of the automaker's "Bulli Love Stories" campaign, VW camper van and classics communications specialist and ambassador Christian Schlüter has toured 125,000 km (77,670 miles) through 41 countries in an ID. Buzz in pursuit of Volkswagen Bus fanatics and stories. With help from the Buzz camper-in-a-box from Ququq, he's spent 220 nights sleeping in the little mini-camper along the journey.
In fact, Schlüter was kind enough to take a short break from that grand tour and to help us secure a review unit of that same electric Buzz camper setup last summer. We're not even entirely sure what point on the map he was calling home at that moment, but he rallied his team and got us a van in record time, after we realized we had a free day following the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon.
Those interested in big tales of tiny transit can learn the full story of the ID. Buzz/teardrop mini in the latest episode of Bulli Love Stories below. The conversation is in German, but you can also follow along easily via auto-translated captions in the settings menu.
Source: VW Commercial Vehicles