Volkswagen reimagines VW camper van design classic for the 21st century

The car manufacturer’s I.D Buzz Microbus bears a striking resemblance to its original camper van made popular during the 1960s Hippie era, but is now all-electric.

Volkswagen is set to reincarnate its classic VW camper van, but with a modern, more environmentally friendly twist.

The car manufacturer has revealed that the camper van, which originally launched in 1950 and went out of production in 2014, will be relaunched as an electric VW Microbus.

The I.D. Buzz was originally unveiled by Volkswagen as a concept car back in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, US.

The company has now announced that a production version of the vehicle will go on sale in 2022, alongside a more compact, four-door I.D electric car.

Featuring a silver and yellow exterior, the camper van will include a spacious interior with grey upholstery and its batteries will be mounted in the floor.

Born in 1940s

It will also incorporate variable seating, interactive features and automated driving.

The original VW camper van was born during the late 1940s, when it was being used as a vehicle to transport panels around Volkswagen’s factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, according to the BBC.

The van was spotted by Dutch car importer Ben Pon, who made sketches of it and made an agreement with engineers to bring the camper van to life.

It went on to become an instantly recognisable symbol in popular culture – synonymous with the 1960s counter culture movement, the vehicle of choice for travellers and commonly seen in popular TV programmes and films.

The I.D Buzz will be available in car dealerships internationally from 2022, including across the UK, Europe and the US. It is part of Volkswagen’s wider strategy, which anticipates the manufacturer producing more than 30 all-electric models by 2025.

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  • Joseph Ehrlich August 25, 2017 at 3:03 pm

    You continue to use the word “campervan”, yet, as anyone can plainly see, these are not suitable for camping. This is a *passenger* van.

  • Alex September 1, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    If you need a symbol on the pedals to tell which is which, you shouldn’t be driving!

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