Bulli (Germany, 2011)

At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show Volkswagen presented an electric concept car that renews the spirit of a vehicle that became a symbol of freedom back in the fifties and sixties: the Bulli.

VW waited to have the necessary, sustainable technologies to finally launch this new vision for a modern version of the world’s first van. The new Bulli is powered by an electric motor, with zero emissions for a total of 300 km on a single battery charge.

The electric motor featured on the Bulli has an output of 85 kW and torque of 270Nm, with all the power available from standstill. Energy is supplied to the engine by a 40 kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Bulli’s battery is charged at a station specially designed for electric vehicles, the charging process takes less than one hour.

The Bulli manages to reach the 100km/h mark in 11.5 seconds, with the top speed being set electronically at 140km/h. The concept car is also prepared to be fitted with Volkswagen’s efficient petrol and diesel direct injection engines as alternative drives.

The concept car is 3.99 metres long, 1.75 metres wide and 1.70 metres tall, has a wheelbase of 2.62 metres and relatively large track widths (1.50 m front and rear) in relation to body width.

The Bulli has an electric motor located forward of the front axle and front-wheel drive, opposed to the rear-wheel drive with a boxer engine of the Samba. The front-end of the Bulli being presented in Geneva has two-tone paint with the body mainly in red and the "V" on the bonnet kept white.

The concept maintains the Volkswagen design DNA, with the horizontal layout of the narrow dual headlights and on the air intakes. The front end design is completed by the bumper that exhibits a large round fog light on each side, another air intake in the middle, and a front spoiler in black below.

The horizontal lines from Volkswagen’s design DNA continue to dominate in the new Bulli. Above the body-coloured bumper the tailgate that extends across the entire width of the vehicle. In the tailgate, the narrow LED rear lights bring back the design of the Microbus concept of 2001.

The interior of the Bulli concept is marked by clarity, but also by versatility. For example the and middle seat positions of the front bench seat can be folded down, while the rear beach seat, meanwhile, can be completely stowed. In this case booth capacity is increased to 1,600 litres. Like its ancestor the new Bulli also has a seat system that can be transformed into large reclining surface with just a few manual movements, turning the compact MPV into a compact camper.