“Then there are all the buggies, the kit cars. “MEB is flexible, rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and we have so many emotional concepts. “I think the world lacks characterful cars, you know?” Volkswagen brand CEO, Dr Herbert Diess, said a year ago. The only historic Volkswagen off the table for EV conversion is the Schwimmwagen, the amphibious Beetle-based machine, which Dr Diess insists is too closely linked the Nazi-era Germany. There is another retro-themed EV on the books as well, with Volkswagen secretly plotting a Beetle-themed five-door hatchback to debut in 2020 as a concept car. It already has one retro-themed EV confirmed for production, with the Kombi/Microbus/Bulli being recreated in the Buzz van, which will be on sale in 2020. The Kübelwagen gave birth to a second-generation model, based off the wider Karmann Ghia chassis, called the Thing in the US, and Dr Diess has pushed his designers to give him proposals for a third generation, with EV power. Volkswagen is also said to have had meetings over the Kübelwagen, the Beetle-based World War II-era German answer to the Jeep. Nevertheless, Dr Diess has plotted a two-pronged strategy for the MEB EV assault, with a more sensible line of cars and a funkier line of EVs.

More than 6000 of the California-built machines were sold. It was conceived by Californian engineer, sailor, surfer and boat builder, Bruce Meyers, who developed the dune buggy in 1964, based on a Volkswagen Beetle chassis and running gear. It is being considered for production largely to add a sparkle and a bit of fun to the serious business of lowering local vehicle emissions.īut while Volkswagen clearly has ownership of the Beetle, Kombi/Microbus and even the amphibious Schwimmwagen, it has no conceptual ownership of the dune/beach buggy.

The new dune buggy, a far cry from the more cynical 2014 Volkswagen Beetle Dune concept car (pictured), will be a two-seat pure battery-electric car complete with big wheels, a thick, strong, fixed roll bar and a foldable, free-standing windscreen. Neo hatchback, but even a year ago Volkswagen Group boss Herbert Diess confirmed its flexibility would allow the company to easily build low-volume niche cars. The MEB will be seen first next year beneath the I.D. The new Volkswagen dune buggy will be a modern interpretation of the classic Beetle-based machine, this time based on the Volkswagen Group’s upcoming Modular Electric Platform (MEB). Killing off the Beetle hasn’t blunted Volkswagen’s love affair with its historic favourites, with sources confirming it will show a dune buggy concept about the time of next year’s Geneva motor show.ĭue to be seen around March next year, the reborn dune buggy will be a pure-electric model, as revealed in an exclusive story at in November last year.

Dune buggy kits for new beetle