Automotive

Volkswagen looks back to the 60s with super-cute electric beach buggy

Volkswagen looks back to the 60s with super-cute electric beach buggy
The I.D. Buggy - Volkswagen's take on an electric dune cruiser for the 2020s.
The I.D. Buggy - Volkswagen's take on an electric dune cruiser for the 2020s.
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Two Nappa leather seats and a Targa bar
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Two Nappa leather seats and a Targa bar
Ample storage for your electric skateboard
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Ample storage for your electric skateboard
Discreet soft top
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Discreet soft top
The interior is minimalist to a fault
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The interior is minimalist to a fault
The I.D. Buggy - Volkswagen's take on an electric dune cruiser for the 2020s.
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The I.D. Buggy - Volkswagen's take on an electric dune cruiser for the 2020s.
A 99-mph top speed and decent sprint times should make it fun to drive
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A 99-mph top speed and decent sprint times should make it fun to drive
Squashed steering wheel
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Squashed steering wheel
"Hey you" dash gives you nothing but the basics
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"Hey you" dash gives you nothing but the basics
Tell me that thing's not adorable
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Tell me that thing's not adorable
Off-road capable, with 18-inch wheels and BF Goodrich All-Terrain hoops
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Off-road capable, with 18-inch wheels and BF Goodrich All-Terrain hoops
Interior looks ready to be hosed down
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Interior looks ready to be hosed down
Hails back to the Meyers Manx kits that started the beach buggy craze back in the 60s.
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Hails back to the Meyers Manx kits that started the beach buggy craze back in the 60s.
LED circular headlights
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LED circular headlights
No doors, naturally
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No doors, naturally
Circular taillights complete the look
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Circular taillights complete the look
Looks almost aggressive from this angle, but in a very cute way
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Looks almost aggressive from this angle, but in a very cute way
The concept is just a two-seater
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The concept is just a two-seater
Volkswagen says the platform will easily accommodate a four-seat version
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Volkswagen says the platform will easily accommodate a four-seat version
An extra electric motor at the front could easily make this an AWD machine
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An extra electric motor at the front could easily make this an AWD machine
LED logos look very natty
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LED logos look very natty
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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VW ID Buggy at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
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Volkswagen has debuted its electric beach buggy at Geneva, and I'm just going to come out and say it: this thing is adorable. Built on the same modular platform as the ID. Crozz, ID. Buzz and others, it's a super-fun retro dune cruiser with style for days.

Dune buggies started out in the 60s, chopped and hacked out of early Volkswagen Beetles, and VW wants to revive the California surfie spirit of these things moving into the electric age. And frankly, with a modular platform to build on top of, the Germans can make more or less anything they want out of the ID. electric platform.

The specs, such as they're relevant for a concept car, are thus: a single 201-horsepower, 228 lb-ft (309 Nm) electric motor in the rear, fed by a 62-kWh battery pack in the floor, giving a WLTP range of 155 miles (250 km). The wheels are 18 inches, with BF Goodrich All-Terrain chunky tires. 0-60mph (0-98 mph) is a decent 7.2 second sprint and the top speed is limited to 99mph (160kmh).

LED circular headlights
LED circular headlights

Realistically though, it's the design that makes this one sing. It's ultra-clean and sleek, with a water-resistant Nappa leather interior that looks like it's ready to be hosed down after a day out getting dirty. There's a strap-down tray for surfboards, skateboards or whatever else you want to lug back there. The "hey you" dash, squashed-oval steering wheel and pedals are the definition of bare minimum, and the rounded LED head and taillights brand it as Volkswagen through and through.

Squashed steering wheel
Squashed steering wheel

It's got practical touches too, like the Targa bar, which gives some rollover protection, and winch/tow points at all four corners.

Volkswagen seems ready to talk about manufacturing the thing, or at least supplying a platform to external manufacturers that could support something exactly like this ID. Buggy concept, as well as four-seater and AWD versions. The whole bodywork is detachable, as well, so third-party builders could make all sorts of body shapes for it.

Don't expect it to be super practical – the originals never were, and this one maintains the proud Meyers Manx tradition of having no doors. But those old beach buggies still turn heads no matter who you drive them past, and we can see the ID. Buggy charming a whole new generation when it hits the streets.

Source: Volkswagen

View gallery - 30 images
4 comments
4 comments
Username
They 100% nailed it!
guzmanchinky
Ok this would sell out in seconds in California. Make it AWD and maybe a little bit off road capable and I can only imagine what it could do at Pismo Dunes or Glamis, or even some light trails up in the local mountains.
JDC1
Great! Now, let's see VW bring back an electric version of the VW "Thing."
I was too young/poor to grab one when the gas version came out, but what a great runabout car!
ljaques
Yeah, pretty cool. Love the Manx look, except for the simu-chrome crap on the bottom, which is truly tacky. I wonder if the hooks on the back are for when some maroon gets it stuck, or for ski ropes to cull the fiberglass right off the bottom of some poor sap's surfboard on the sand. LOL Those tri slots got me for a few seconds, until I realized that they were the cup holders. That will be an expensive replacement when the sun kills that plastic. I made a bikini top for my old Int'l Scout, so the one they had for that will be very well received, I'm sure. I don't think I want to know the price for those things, though.