Mimicking the styling used on an electric guitar customized by Volkswagen Design, the Fender Telecaster, the bespoke Beetle study is painted in a high-gloss "Black" finish with a fine red line framing the side windows.
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"[The] NILS is a vehicle that anticipates the future. It looks as though someone has projected it back from the year 2030 to the world of today," says Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the Board of Management and Head of Development for the Volkswagen Brand.
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First up! (pun intended), is the sportiest prototype of the bunch, aptly named GT Up!. Volkswagen says a possible production version of the GT could be fitted with a small displacement engine delivering 100-horsepower or 25HP more than the most powerful Up! available at launch.
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The most impressive study is the Buggy Up! that pays homage to the original, Beetle-based model of the same name that was born in California in the 1960s.
The concept model features a lightweight construction with extensive body reinforcements and a roll bar behind the two seats to compensate for the loss of the roof and the doors.
The body has been redesigned while the car's ride height was dropped by 20mm. At 3,584 mm long and 1,672 mm wide, the Buggy Up! is slightly longer and wider than the hatchback model it is based on.
The two-seater rides on 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped around 205/40 tires.
Being a proper beach vehicle, the revamped interior is completely waterproof with specially designed drains in the vehicle floor and the open side sills preventing flooding.
While Volkswagen did not make it clear if the Buggy Up! will make it into production, the German automaker said the concept signifies the beginning of an entire series of cars based on the Up!.
However, this may soon change as Volkswagen is giving us the clearest indication of its future plans yet with the unveiling of the new Beetle R Concept at this week's Frankfurt Motor Show.
Beginning with the exterior, the Beetle R Concept sports a subtly aggressive design with newly sculpted bumpers that were widened by 30 mm, and blistered wheel arches widened by 15mm per side that house massive 20-inch wheels in the same “Talladega” design found on the Golf R and Scirocco R models.
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The most impressive study is the Buggy Up! that pays homage to the original, Beetle-based model of the same name that was born in California in the 1960s.
The concept model features a lightweight construction with extensive body reinforcements and a roll bar behind the two seats to compensate for the loss of the roof and the doors.
Read more »
The cloud-like shaped booth will host more than 50 vehicles focusing on the Up! city car, which is making its public debut along with the Nils single-seat electric commuting vehicle concept and the recently unveiled new generation Beetle, facelifted Tiguan and Golf Cabriolet.
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Following the announcement on Audi's two-seater Urban Sportback and Spyder studies, the Volkswagen brand today revealed the first images of its new Nils concept, a tiny single-seater electric vehicle designed primarily for use in an urban environment.
Initially there was no intention to produce the Bulli, but the public’s positive reaction to the concept study has made VW reconsider.
After all, along with models such as the Beetle, the microbus concept is part of VW’s heritage. And at a time when the competition is particularly fierce, the Wolfsburg-based carmaker is thinking about placing its rich heritage to good use.
If the Bulli project receives gets the green light, it will be built at VW’s Puebla plant in Mexico alongside the brand-new Beetle with which it will share its platform architecture. The choice of Puebla makes perfect sense, since the majority of Bulli’s production would be directed to the US market where the original Microbus was most popular.
The Bulli concept is a small, five-seat MPV measuring 3.99 m in length, 1.75 m in width and 1.70 m tall, with 2.62 m long wheelbase.
VW Group’s head of design, Walter da Silva, recently told Autocar magazine that the company is positive about producing the Bulli: “We don’t have space for another MPV, but as a designer I am convinced by this idea. This one would be desirable on a different level, combining practicality with heritage appeal”.
The study that VW presented in Geneva was a pure electric vehicle with a 40 Kw lithium-ion battery that can be charged in less than an hour at a charging station. The electric motor produces 85 Kw (114HP) and 270 Nm (199 lb-f) of torque. If deemed necessary, the Bulli can also incorporate a gasoline or diesel range extender internal combustion engine.
As a pure EV, its maximum range is 185 miles (300 km), it accelerates from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in a brisk 11.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 87 mph (140 km/h).
If it finally gets the go-ahead, it could go on sale as early as 2014.
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