Autocar UK – 28 August 2019

VOLKSWAGEN ID BUGGY DRIVE

28 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 59

a t op s p e e d of a r ou nd 2 0 mph , it w a s

e nou g h t o r e v e a l t h at t he Bu gg y i s

terrifically built and sound enough in

design to reach production.

The hardest part of driving the

Buggy is getting into it. The easiest

way is to sit on the high-mounted side

s t r uc t u r e b e for e s w i n g i n g y ou r le gs

inside and plonking your backside

into the driver’s seat. Once there,

you’re confronted by a hexagonal

steering wheel, with a small digital

d i s pl ay. T he r e i s a r ot a r y d i a l on t he

left to control the indicators and one

on the right to select Drive or engage

the handbrake.

The minimalist interior uses

durable materials and is basic by

modern standards. There’s no

infotainment, merely a Bluetooth

speaker between the seats. The

fo c u s i s v e r y muc h on pu r e , si mple

driving fun.

A twist of the right-hand-side

controller and a press of the pedal

gets the Buggy under way with a

heady burst of silent acceleration.

Performance is instant thanks to the

slug of torque sent to the rear wheels,

although with our top speed limited,

it is almost immediately stemmed.

Looking out over the front wings

while the wind licks through your

hair, you’re reminded very much of

the Meyers Manx. Like the original,

this new-age buggy is not only

u nu s u a l t o lo ok but a l s o de l i v e r s a

unique set of driving traits. It’s

the simplicity of the thing that

really stands out.

The characteristics of the EV

driveline satisfy the requirements

of an off-road buggy quite well. This

is not a class of car typically driven

long distances and the battery gives

sufficient range without ladening it

with unnecessary weight.

The steering is light and extremely

responsive. In combination with

springs that provide 100mm of travel

under compression and 90mm in

rebound all round, they ensure a

surprisingly smooth and compliant

ride. Another endearing aspect is

the small turning circle.

V W I D Bu g g y i s a

concept made with

production in mind

One electric motor is

mounted at the back

to drive the rear axle

Kable enjoys the

open-air Meyers

Manx-style feel

`

The ID Buggy

resurrects the

spirit of the original

Meyers Manx

a

Bruce Meyers, a surfer and former

marine turned boat builder, was

intrigued by the heavy, eight-cylinder

beach buggies he started seeing on

the Californian beaches in the early

1960s but felt he could do better. His

solution: shorten a Beetle platform

and make a new glassfibre body for

it. It maintained the Beetle’s flat-four

engine and rear-drive layout, with the

shorter wheelbase boosting handling.

The buggy proved so popular that

Meyers set up the Meyers Manx firm

to produce them, making around

6000 between 1965 and 1971. Its

lightweight design won over admirers

(helped by prominent appearances

in films such as The Thomas Crown

Affair) and ensured it dominated dune

racing. It also inspired other small-

scale manufacturers to produce their

own Beetle-based buggies. A total

of 250,000 such buggies are believed

to have been produced by about

300 firms and the buggies are still

popular around the world.

HOW THE ORIGINAL CAME ABOUT

Engine  Rear-mounted

electric motor

Battery 62kWh

Power  201bhp

Torque  228lb ft

Kerb weight tbc

Top speed  99mph

0-62mph  7.2sec

Range  155 miles

VOLKSWAGEN ID BUGGY CONCEPT

It would be unfair to draw

definitive conclusions about the car’s

dynamic attributes. But it’s clear the

ID Buggy doesn’t just resurrect the

spirit of the original Meyers Manx:

it also showcases the outstanding

v e r s at i l it y of V W ’s M EB pl at for m i n

a very convincing way. By providing

its dedicated electric car structure

with truly modular properties,

V W h a s b e e n a ble t o u s e it for

an astonishingly wide range of

different models.

Will it ever see production?

Happily, it seems likely. That said,

don’t e x p e c t it t o app e a r on U K r oa d s

soon. VW has its hands full with

gearing up for the introduction of the

ID 3. Supplying components to an

outside company for a low-volume

proposition is not exactly at the top of

its priority list at the moment.

Still, the ID Buggy should be

taken seriously. By looking to the

past, VW has revived a concept

that can definitely fill a niche in

an electric future. L

Bruce Meyers, father

of th e V W d u n e b u g g y