Tired of waiting for Volkswagen to build a production version of its ID Buzz Cargo? Well, this may whet your appetite. VW of America and EV West have partnered to build an electrified Type 2 Bus.
The project utilizes the 35.8-kwh battery pack and EV drive unit pulled from a 2017 e-Golf. The 100-kilowatt (134-horsepower) motor resides where the stock air-cooled enigne did, in the rear of the Type 2's passenger compartment. This 1972 Bus's independent rear suspension made it the ideal candidate for the donor powertrain, VW said in a Friday release.
"Their passion for classic-car culture and commitment to renewable energy made EV West the ideal choice for this project," said VW of America's Mathew Renna. "We thought, who better to see if the e-Golf powertrain would be the perfect fit for our older vehicles. It’s great to see that the spirit of hot rodding is going to live on into the electric age."
Volkswagen Type 2 electric conversion
Volkswagen Type 2 electric conversion
Volkswagen Type 2 electric conversion
EV West custom-engineered a set of reinforced and fireproof enclosures for the battery packs, which are located under the front seats and where the stock fuel tank sat. In stock long-throw shifter now puts the vehicle in park, reverse, neutral, and drive, as well as the regen mode that VW indicates with a B in the e-Golf. The stock cluster was replaced with a multi-function digital unit with graphics designed to match the original.
Volkswagen Type 2 electric conversion
Apart from that, just about everything in (and on) this Type 2 is original. VW brought the Bus to the Peterson Museum as part of its 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show festivities. We expect it will travel to various events in the future, and likely end up at the company's U.S. headquarters in Herndon, Virginia.
This isn't Volkswagen's first venture into electrifying older models. It released the e-Beetle back in September as part of a home-market tech showcase, and the Volkswagen Group is apparently exploring the possibility of showing off an electrified Porsche 356.
