Here's Volkswagen's All-Electric Dune Buggy and It's More Like an Old-School Buggy Than You'd Think [View all]

[Eugene]

Source: Jalopnik

Here's Volkswagen's All-Electric Dune Buggy and It's More Like an Old-School Buggy Than You'd Think

Jason Torchinsky
Today 7:00pmFiled to: VOLKSWAGEN



Volkswagen teased an all-electric dune buggy concept built on their new modular MEB platform and heavily inspired by ‘60s-era Beetle-based dune buggies like the famous Meyers Manx. We’re now seeing it in all it’s bright green glory before it shows up at the Geneva Motor Show, and, excitingly, it’s got more in common with those old air-cooled Beetle-buggies than you’d think.

First, it’s actually rear-motor’d like the orginal dune buggies. Sure, it’s an electric motor making 201 horsepower instead of an air-cooled flat-four making 50 hp if you’re lucky, but at least VW’s finally putting some motors in the right place.



That also means that, like an old Manx, it’s RWD, but now VW says there could be an option for an additional motor up front for AWD:

As an alternative to the rear-wheel-drive layout, it is also possible to fit a second electric motor in the front axle of the ID. BUGGY. In this case, an “electric propshaft” would distribute the power of the 4Motion® four-wheel drive between the front and rear axles in fractions of a second.

The concept of the “electric propshaft” I think is a deeply strange way to describe the electrical connections between the motors. I mean, I see the analogy they’re making, but comparing a bunch of electronic signals to a simple spinning rod just feels a little, uh, forced.

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Read more: https://jalopnik.com/heres-volkswagens-all-electric-dune-buggy-and-its-more-1833047902