Thanks to an electric model derived from the ID. Buzz, Volkswagen will offer a new Combi with a neo-retro look in 2022. But the idea of reviving this icon of the hippie movement is not new, since in 2001 the Microbus concept had already created many hopes. alas disappointed.
Better late than never. In 2022, Volkswagen will launch a van inspired by its very first Combi. This is the ID concept car. Buzz, presented in 2017, which will be transformed into a production model for the occasion. But the story could have been totally different if the brand had followed up on the Microbus style study, presented at 71e Geneva Motor Show twenty years ago! With its attractive curves, its characteristic glass surfaces or its white roof and front cover, this concept was already playing the neo-retro card. A choice that had been very successful for Volkswagen on the other side of the Atlantic. Its New Beetle, launched in 1998 and announced by Concept 1 in 1994, enjoyed a real plebiscite there. From there to imagine an entry into production of this Microbus, there was only one step… that many observers had taken at the time.
The Microbus passes very close to the series
The brand itself had helped spark that hope. In her press release, she mentioned a “ bus of the future designed in the Volkswagen design studio in California especially for the US market “. Microbus is the name under which the first Combi had become famous in the United States. But eventually, the years passed, and the concept never came true. 4.72 m long and capable of accommodating seven passengers, yet it could have offered a more fun to the then fashionable minivans. With a few modifications to adapt it to production constraints, such as a slightly less refined interior, rims smaller than the 20 inches unusual at that time or more classic door handles. Instead, Volkswagen will prefer to sign a partnership with Chrysler to launch the Routan, a simple rebadged Voyager. An arch-classic choice not really successful …
A very compact Bulli concept in 2011
Ten years later, in 2011, the brand will do the same thing again, in a completely different format. At the Frankfurt Motor Show, the brand unveils a new neo-retro style study, this time called Bulli. This German word, translatable into French by “bubble”, is the affectionate nickname which is often given to the first Combi on the other side of the Rhine. A name change which reflects the more European vocation of this second essay. With a length that drops below 4 meters, we now play in the courtyard of the Citroën C3 Picasso rather than that of the Grand C4 Picasso. But, thanks to a three-seater bench in the front, it is still possible to take six passengers. Once again, all hopes of commercialization are high. And again, they will be showered very quickly, even if an arrival in 2013 had often been mentioned.
True resurrection in 2022 with ID. Buzz
But as they say: it’s never two without three. This Bulli concept already had a 100% electric motor. A point in common with the future derivative of the ID. Buzz, which also retains a half-nostalgic, half-modern style. The similarities end there, however. Rather than a Polo platform, it is now the SEM of ID.3 and ID.4 which is used. It will thus be possible to offer propulsion and four-wheel drive versions, with one or two electric motors. As for the template, it has once again changed a lot. With its 4.94 m long, the ID. Buzz is closer to the Microbus format than to the Bulli. But this time, promised sworn, it will become a reality in 2022 by targeting both individuals and professionals.
