(By Tom Lohnes) – One of Volkswagen’s lesser-known projects, the I.D Buggy was going to be my favorite vehicle they make. Well sadly that will no longer be because VW’s electric vehicle partner e.Go said they did not want to produce it.
With the Beetle behind us, the iconic Volkswagen vehicle that will replace it will be the I.D Buzz, an electric revamp of their famed microbus. Along with that was also supposed to come thee subject of this article, the I.D Buggy, a revision of the iconic Beetle-based Meyers Manx from the 60’s.
Based on VW’s new electric architecture, codenamed MEB, the whole slew of electric vehicles coming from Volkswagen, even the van and the Buggy, would theoretically all drive exactly the same. That was one of the reasons it was killed. Another reason, is that with the batteries and motors, the Buggy would weigh north of 4,000 pounds, or 3x the weight of the old one. It would be a lot faster, but some nimbleness would be cut in order for it to be electric. The third reason, is the company that teamed up with VW to make these niche vehicles, said they didn’t want to produce the buggy, even in limited quantities. Tough times at Volkswagen.
So, if you want an obese electric dune buggy sadly Volkswagen won’t supply you with one. But due to the versatility of the chassis, maybe someone will revive Meyers and make a new Manx.
Apparently, it had a targa top you could add, but zero provisions for side windows. I’m not sure how you’d be able to sell such a thing for the $35,000 or so price tag it’s likely to need. Something that impractical either needs to be either much cheaper (like the original Manx) or add a lot more crazy and a higher price to make it a status symbol. And even the original Viper R/T 10 had side curtain windows.
Isn’t it about time for body kits to start showing up for VWs or some other iconic newer car?
They need to make them fairly easy to strip to the skateboard before a kit industry takes off.
Mark Smith formally of Factory Five now has his own company.
http://www.smythkitcars.com