A concept car isn’t meant for general consumption, but one created by the styling department or design house as an ‘ideas’ car – something to inflate passions, push forward boundaries and inspire the imagination. Not ones to disappoint, VW featured in some of the most forward thinking ideas. Here are just a few of the more intriguing VAG concepts…
Given the current explosion in popularity of mid-sized people carriers, it’s incredible to think that VW was there at the start with the ‘80s Futura – a Golf-sized people carrier created years before the Scenic made the mid-sized MPV genre a hit with families.
Admittedly the gullwing doors were done for efffect and hopelessly impractical, but don’t let that take your attention away from the futuristic dome-like glass screen which is reminiscent of current MPV panoramic styles and looks incredibly contemporary. More striking were the technical innovations, which included the bang-up-to-date concept of direct petrol injection (aided by a G40 supercharger) making the 1.7-litre engine both clean and frugal.
The Futura’s cleverest party trick though was its four-wheel steering which would allow the wheels to turn through 180 degrees, so with the aid of electric monitors the vehicle could steer sideways into a parking space. Not such a dumb idea, given today’s stupidly crammed town centre parking…
The 1991 Vario (above), shown first at the Geneva Show, was designed by VW students and was also pretty funky. Interestingly, it too offered an intriguing glimpse into Volkswagen’s future technological exploits because its aim was to show how different body shapes and styles could be adapted to use the same basic platform (in this case an extended version of the Golf 4×4 Synchro). Sound familiar?
We are all familiar with the latest water-cooled Beetle, but incredibly the original design dates back to 1994. Called the Concept 1, it took the rounded theme of the Beetle but based it on modern Polo underpinnings and because the look proved so popular VW decided to go ahead with a production version in 1998, albeit with Golf running gear.
If you thought the revised Bug was cool, check out this stunning early concept from Audi. It’s called the Asso Di Picche which will thrill Motorhead fans because it means ‘Ace of Spades’ in Italian. Basically it was a design concept carried out by the kings of wedge Ital Design in 1973 and built by Karmann for Audi.
It’s based loosely on Audi 80 underpinnings. With its geometric design and raked screen from the side it looks very much like any ‘60s/’70s Italian supercar of the time but from the rear, we can’t help but think Mk1 Scirocco…
From retro cool to the frankly ridiculous. Ital’s very Japanese sounding Michimoto of 1986, was a hybrid of motorcycle and car elements, and used Golf GTi mechanicals. Quirkily, passengers sat astride twin rows of seats, very much like a motorbike. Wackier still, it could be steered either by a conventional steering wheel, by handlebars or by vertical hand grips. Luckily, nothing quite like it has ever made it into production, although no doubt it would have delighted science fiction fettish costume fanciers!
Bringing the whole concept theme bang up to date, there’s fab news for retro bus lovers because word has it that VW is about to revive its ‘Bulli’ retro bus concept, based on the new Beetle platform. Watch this space….
If you’ve got a favourite VW concept, let us know!
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage