If Computer modelling has radically speeded up the design process,how does it take 11 Years to put such a design into production? do a retro homage to the Messerschmitt bubble car!

There is not a chance they will produce this car. It's way to radical for them. Not that it shouldn't be produced, just it will be by a new company, not VW. Plus it's ugly. Aero does not have to be ugly.

Wow !,,,,,,,,,,, things are getting exciting in the automotive industry,,,,,,,,,,the Messerschmitt bubble car was an awful vehicle,,,,,,,,,,so no comparison there please !

I would buy one for commuting if the price was right. There's one big safety problem though. If the car rolls even onto its side you'd be trapped.

It's interesting that one of the comments says that this car is ugly.
I think this is a very beautiful car.
I would rather have this car than any other car that I could think of.
The only problem is that they will add bells and whistles and expensive extras so that it will be between 30 and 40 thousand dollars for the vehicle.
I hope they make a bare bones, less expensive version. Maybe replacing a little of the carbon fiber with aluminum. But I don't know.

I still think, that when small living business villages are built, 1000 people will be able to share 500 or even 250 cars, without A problem, & that therefore, each car will be able to cost twice as much upfront, permitting the construction of vehicles that are otherwise ahead of their time. When you DOUBLE the price of effectively the same vehicle, it can become a gorgeous and hyperefficient thing.

This illustrates the factor in efficiency that has been overlooked by the technically challenged in the auto "green" press - frontal area. Aero drag is a function of drag coefficient, area, and speed. It's gotten harder to achieve reduction in drag coefficient, but rearranging the seats reduces frontal area by nearly half.
The future of the automobile looks to me very much like a diesel, hybrid-powered Bic pen on wheels.

An aging motorcyclist, I, I would love to own one of these! I would gladly purchase an Aptera hybrid for that matter.
It's the handling, the ease of transport, the freedom of movement down the road that appeals...
The weather? Not so much. I don't even have enough hair left to grumble about helmet laws anymore. The 'wind whipping across your naked scalp' just doesn't have the same ring.
C'mon VW! Bring it in under $20K. I'll contract for one and begin payments tomorrow!

Production schedules, "bells & whistles" and appearances aside, it most likely won't be available here (in the United States). It's hard enough to find decent diesel options here. Add in that it "looks weird" (to average Joe-Sixpack), means it will be kept out for perceived lack of interest. Since "all" cars look a particular way, burn a particular fuel, that OBVIOUSLY means that it should stay that way. I think it's a load of BS, but that's unfortunately how things are done. That's why we can't get "real" Opels here: We get Opels that have been stripped of what makes them good, and packed full of genuine GM crap, and a "Saturn" logo.

It sucks. Yes, unfortunately I do have to agree with Jeff. You will not get the real thing here.