This week Volkswagen unveiled its two-seater E-Bugster concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. There are no prizes, I’m afraid, for deducing from the entomological etymology that this is an all-electric variant of the classic VW Beetle. Kudos, though, if you identified that the name betrays the E-Bugster’s shared DNA with the Ragster, VW’s 2005 concept which itself informed the conventional Beetle of today. But enough on the name, let’s take a look at the specs.
Beneath those familiar, svelte curves of the exoskeleton is an 85 kW electric motor which can see the E-Bugster from 0 to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in a fairly leisurely 10.9 seconds. More importantly, the 28.3 kWh battery is good for an impressive range, VW says, of at least 110 miles (177 km) while it claims that battery can be completely recharged in a mere 35 minutes.
The range is bolstered by a kinetic energy recover system which charges the battery whenever the driver steps off the accelerator (provided the car’s in motion), and more when under braking. The process is visualized on the dash, as are battery state, remaining range, and power use.
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