2011 Volkswagen Bulli

Exterior and Interior

Harkening back to the days of the Samba, the Volkswagen Bulli comes with a similar two-tone paint job with the distinctive ‘V’ on the van’s bonnet. Likewise, the Bulli’s 18” alloy wheels were dressed with the same stylized chrome hubcaps as another apparent tribute to the old Samba bus.

The interior of the Bulli is where things get a little more different, particularly because the new Bulli comes with a lot of new high-tech digs. Before getting to that, it must be noted that the Bulli’s interior comes with a 3+3 seating configuration with the three rear seats capable of being folded flat to maximize cargo space – or if you’re really feeling the 70’s vibe, you can turn all that space into your own mobile “good time spot”. If all six seats are occupied, the Bulli will still have an available load-space of 370 liters compared to the 1,600-liter load-space available with the seats folded.

Now for the fun stuff. The "center console" of the Bulli comes with a removable iPad, which serves as a multi-function touchscreen that comes with Internet-based applications, its own media center, as well as phone and navigation functions. Conspicuous by their absence are the tachometer, which we’ll explain later, and the gear lever. Taking the place of the lever is a rotary switch just to the right of the driver that’s used to select both forward and reverse gears. There’s also a push button found in the same switch that can be used to activate and switch off the motors. Finally, there’s another rotary switch found on the left side of the driver that controls every and all lighting functions of the Bulli.

Performance

The Bulli is an electric vehicle, which explains the absence of the tachometer, and is powered by a 40 kWh lithium-ion battery that is joined by an 85 kW electric motor. With this powertrain, the Bulli is capable of producing 113 horsepower and 192 lb/ft of torque with a 0-62 mph time of 11.5 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 87 mph. Expected driving range for the Bulli is at 186 miles, which for all intents and purposes, is an impressive number for an electric car.

Pricing

No word yet on pricing since the car is still a concept. And since it’s been a while since Volkswagen has released a spiritual successor to the VW buses of yesteryear, there’s no telling how much they’re going to price this one in the event that a production version is green-lighted. Nonetheless, we’re pegging a sticker price of somewhere around $24,000 - $33,000 based on what a Volkswagen Touran costs these days.

Competition

Should the Volkswagen Bulli hit the production block, you can expect it to compete against something like the Fiat Nuovo Doblo. Depending on how you configure the seats of the Bulli, the Nuovo Doblo’s load-space capacity is either going to be smaller or bigger than the Volkswagen concept at 790-liter load space.

While the Bulli will carry its name as an electric vehicle, the Nuovo Doblo is all gasoline, with up to four different powertrain options, beginning with a 1.3-liter engine that produces 95 horsepower and three diesel Multijet engine variants with an output at 90, 105, and 135 horsepower.

Depending on your taste, each vehicle has its own merit, so picking one over the other may end being a matter of preference. That is, if the Bulli ends up as a production vehicle. Otherwise, all comparisons end up being moot points.

 Nice dress-up ’tribute’ to the old Microbus
 Efficient powertrain
 Spacious interior

 No word on production
 While efficient, powertrain could be more powerful
 How long ’til we see it out on the streets?