Volkswagen Bulli microbus, which made its debut at the recent motor show in Geneva, Switzerland. play-auto.net
The Volkswagen Bulli modernises—and miniaturises—the shagadelic Microbus.
Without question, the cutest car to debut at the recent Geneva motor show was the Volkswagen Bulli concept. Cheek-pinchingly adorable, it comes a full decade after the New Microbus concept we fell in love with at the 2001 Detroit auto show. What a difference a decade makes.
Like the New Microbus, the Bulli is a production-intent concept, but it’s powered by an electric motor and has been seriously downsized. The 2001 concept was based on the nine-passenger T5 MultiVan, but the Bulli is designed around Volkswagen’s much smaller MQB component set, which will form the underpinnings for the next (seventh-generation) Golf. The concept, however, uses the current Polo’s rear torsion-beam suspension.
The Bulli’s name may be new to us, but it’s an old nickname given to the first-generation Microbus more than half a century ago. It comes from the German adjective bullig, or chunky, describing that car’s stout, rounded appearance. And all the Vanagons, Transporters, Kombis, Multivans, Caravelles, Westfalias, and Microbuses that have come before it, this concept exists to move people.
Two rows of bench seats carry up to six passengers, with the high roof providing lots of headroom for all aboard. The dashboard is a horizontal model of simplicity, with almost all driver controls mounted on a protruding pod. It contains an LCD screen with a rendering of a semicircular speedometer, and to each side is a circular selector—the left controls the headlights, the right serves as a gear selector for the electric powertrain. All infotainment functions are controlled by a removable iPad that sits on a sliding arm mounted on the dash. The iPad dock contains the centre console’s only controls: two sliders and four touch-sensitive buttons for the climate controls and one for the hazard lights.
For camping duty, the Bulli’s seats fold flat—and if the van is rocking, it’s likely due to the Fender sound system. Volkswagen claims up to 57 cubic feet of cargo room with the seats folded, so there’s plenty of room for young couples to, um, camp out. And, um, listen to music.
Under the Bulli’s bull-nosed hood is a 114-hp electric motor driving the front wheels. Volkswagen says the 199 lb-ft output can squirt the van to 62 mph in 11.5 seconds — not exactly sports car speed, but the original didn’t have that, either. And the electronically limited 87-mph top speed is far faster than the original Microbus could go.
A thin, 40-kWh lithium-ion battery is mounted under the floor, and VW says it contains enough power for up to 186 miles. We suspect that’s a bit optimistic, since the far more aerodynamic Tesla Roadster’s 53-kWh battery can squeeze out barely 200 real-world miles. Still, the Bulli was designed to accommodate conventional internal-combustion engines, and if this concept becomes production reality—which wouldn’t be until 2015—it would likely have a 1.4-litre four-cylinder under the hood. Volkswagen of America president Jonathan Browning is very excited about the Bulli. He says, “It falls into a segment that we think will experience significant growth in the next few years.
Of course, our main goal in the meantime is staying focused on our core volume products so that we can continue to bring the cars enthusiasts love — like the GTI, the Beetle, and the Bulli — to our market.” And, let’s face it, the Bulli would go a long way toward redeeming VW for the current badge-engineered Routan minivan.
With all of that said, we’re not sure how something like the Bulli would sell here, mostly because it’s so tiny, almost 25 inches shorter than a Mazda 5, one of the few small multipurpose vehicles currently on sale in the States. And although the idea of a tiny people mover makes perfect sense on the compact roads of Europe, our vast landscape and long driving distances favour minivans. The traditional kind, that is—the ones that aren’t mini at all.
Then again, high-style small cars have broken the rules before in America. The success of the Mini Cooper and VW’s own New Beetle have proved that small cars can be big hits in America. And sixty years later, people still love the Microbus, so if history is any guide, the Bulli’s bullish styling might just be the key to cracking the MPV segment in the U.S.
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