MOBILITY: It is due to arrive in 2022: The ID.BUZZ from Volkswagen
Emission-free all-wheel-drive all-rounder transfers microbus feeling into the future
New electric van aroused flower power feelings when Volkswagen presented the ID.BUZZ 2017 in Detroit. With the new ID. BUZZ, Volkswagen presented a microbus of the modern era at the North American International Auto Show 2017 in Detroit. With its design, the electric van study bridges the gap between the legendary origins of the Volkswagen brand and its electrifying future.
In Detroit, Volkswagen demonstrated how multifaceted the electric mobility of tomorrow could look with the ID study. BUZZ study – an all-wheel-drive space miracle with electric motors on the front and rear axles, a fully automated driving mode (“ID. Pilot”) and a new generation of display and control elements. The designation “ID. BUZZ” may be a made-up word, but it is anything but randomly chosen. ID. stands for “Identity”, “Idea”, “Individual”, “Intelligent” and “Iconic Design”. BUZZ, on the other hand, plays phonetically with the word “bus” and linguistically with the silent “hum” of the drive. All this fits perfectly with the technically progressive and design-oriented concept of the study.
Travelling up to 600 kilometres. Recharge and drink a cappuccino. On we go.
First autonomously driving van. “The ID. BUZZ is a van of the next generation. It is based on the new Modular Electrification Building Block (MEB), offers comfort and plenty of space to travel. Its electric range is up to 600 kilometres according to NEDC (270 miles / AER),” says Dr Frank Welsch, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Development. The ID. BUZZ receives new energy inductively or via a charging station. Charging to 80 percent at a charging power of 150 kW takes less than 30 minutes. Dr. Welsch continues: “The overall concept of the ID. BUZZ is trend-setting. This study is the world’s first multivariable electric van with a fully automated driving mode. It transfers the feeling of freedom of the microbus into a completely new era of mobility.”
As a vehicle of a new era, the ID. BUZZ does indeed conceptually redefine the parameters of “drive”, “space” and “comfort”. Some facts that underline this:
Extremely long wheelbase of 3,300mm.
Front end structure that, in addition to maximum safety, allows for a wide turn of the front wheels and, in combination with the steerable rear axle, a very small turning circle of less than 11m.
Lithium-ion battery integrated flat in the floor reinforces the basic structure of the vehicle; it also lowers the centre of gravity, ensures optimum axle load-weight distribution and low lateral acceleration.
Front axle with rigid, uncoupled subframe and integrated all-wheel drive.
Multi-link rear axle with integrated drive unit and uncoupled subframe on the rear axle.
Axle layout stands for optimal driving dynamics and best acoustics.
Air suspension on the rear axle as well as electronically controlled dampers on both axles ensure maximum comfort.
235/45 R22 wheels with 780 mm diameter provide optimum rolling comfort.
Driving mode “ID. Pilot” gives a preview of the year 2025
Status 2017:
Fully automated driving function. It is only four months since Volkswagen presented the little brother of the ID. BUZZ at the Paris Motor Show: the ID. It too – a revolution. A compact electric car that will take off from 2020 with ranges of up to 600 kilometres. The first car that will go into series production on the basis of the MEB. And the first Volkswagen study that can drive fully automatically. The new ID. BUZZ is now the first van with which this is possible: a light press on the steering wheel is all it takes – and it retracts, merges with the cockpit and shifts the ID. BUZZ from manual to fully autonomous mode “ID. Pilot” mode (conceivable from 2025). The steering column decouples from the steering gear via a newly developed steering column system. Now the driver can turn his seat backwards and face the passengers. Laser scanners, ultrasonic sensors, radar sensors, area-view cameras and a front camera record the surroundings; additional traffic data is received via the cloud.
Information is projected into the virtual space via augmented reality.
Navigation with virtual signs in real space. The classic cockpit no longer exists in the ID. BUZZ no longer has a classic cockpit. Instead, the van projects the most important information into the driver’s field of vision using an AR head-up display – in 3D, virtually on the road. AR stands for Augmented Reality. A technology that superimposes electronically generated images on real space. Additional information is provided by a tablet display; features such as the infotainment and climate functions are operated via this removable tablet. In the four door panels and on the outside of the third row of seats there are also capacitive fields with which the climate functions, among others, can be individually controlled in six zones.
Steering wheel becomes steering pad. The controls essential for driving, however, are located in the steering wheel. Its interior is not equipped with spokes and buttons, as is common today, but has a kind of touchpad with capacitive fields – the classic steering wheel thus becomes a multifunctional steering pad.
Space for up to eight people and lots of bikes and boards
All-rounder of a new age. The space utilisation of the up to eight-seater study is better than that of any other electric vehicle. A trip with two families over the weekend? No problem with the ID. BUZZ is no problem. A gig with the band in another city? No problem at all. A trip with bikes and boards on holiday? No problem. With colleagues to a business meeting that still needs to be prepared en route? With the multivariable seating landscape and interactive networking of the ID. BUZZ, no problem. Thanks to the extended MEB-XL platform, this 4,942 mm long, 1,976 mm wide and 1,963 high study also provides exceptional interior space dimensions in its class.
Silent Running. But ID. BUZZ is not just a giant of space. Its technical design makes it one of the most comfortable cars in the world: silent running. An extremely long wheelbase of 3,300 mm. In between, the battery is located in the vehicle floor. It lowers the centre of gravity and ensures perfect weight distribution. The chassis of the ID. BUZZ with its electronically controlled dampers also ensures upper-class comfort.
Clean dynamics with drive power from two engines
The ID. BUZZ is dynamic and charges quickly. The emission-free all-wheel drive with a system output of 275 kW / 374 hp perfectly matches the dynamic character of the ID. BUZZ. One electric motor each on the front and rear axles contributes 150 kW of power. Power is distributed between the two axles via an electric cardan shaft. With this motorisation, the version of the ID. BUZZ presented in Detroit can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in about 5 seconds; the top speed is limited to 160 km/h (99 mph). The van’s battery (energy content up to 111 kWh) can be recharged to 80 percent within 30 minutes (with the Combined Charging System / CCS or via inductive interface and 150 kW charging power). Alternatively, the battery can be charged at any conventional socket and charging points. The configuration with all-wheel drive is only one of several conceivable versions. Depending on the area of use and purpose, it would be equally possible, for example, thanks to the MEB, to equip the ID. BUZZ with a rear-wheel drive of up to 200 kW and a somewhat smaller battery with 83 kWh.
The plan is for the ID.BUZZ to come onto the market in 2022.
Notes:
Equipment specifications and technical data of series models apply to the model range offered in Germany. Deviations may occur for other countries.
All performance, fuel consumption and emission figures stated in this press release are forecasts as of January 2017.
The ID.BUZZ in pictures:
BRAND: Volkswagen AG
virtualdesignmagazine Michael Hiller