One of the most beloved cars is back: Volkswagen is about to launch ID.Buzz

Volkswagen will finally remove its psychedelic camouflage cover from the production version of ID Buzz, giving eager consumers their first undisguised look at the retro-style electric van.

VW offered several reviewers the chance to drive short-wheelbase and two-wheel drive prototypes in Europe last month. That five-seater vehicle will go on sale in Europe this year. A cargo version will also run on the short wheelbase.

The European vans will be equipped with an 82 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery coupled to a single 201 hp electric motor integrated in the rear axle. The top speed is electronically limited to 145 km / h, says VW.

VW dealers in the US will start taking orders for a longer-wheelbase version – probably with a larger battery, along with three rows of seats – this year for deliveries starting in early 2024. Both pricing and the range for the USA remains secret.

ID.Buzz, an expected pattern

The production-driven prototype of the reviewer is bigger than the ID Buzz concept first unveiled at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. It also avoids the dangerous position of the front seats of the original minibus – where the seats are placed in front of the front wheels. – for more traditional front seats, if they are high, the reviewers said. And on a return to the original Microbus, reviewers were told that a caravan version was in the works.

VW Group of America CEO Scott Keogh said this year that the US version of ID Buzz will be originally imported from Germany, as he anticipated an annual volume in the US below 100,000.

Like the Beetle, the design of the VW minibus remains iconic. Buzz could serve as a vehicle to attract buyers to the brand’s general range of electric vehicles, even if they eventually settle for another model.