The Volkswagen E-Bugster concept at the Detroit motor show

To most onlookers, the Volkswagen E-Bugster concept unveiled at the Detroit motor show is a disappointment. As we say in French, this E-Bugster is déjà vu. We've seen it before. Really. Seven years ago, exactly at the same place, Volkswagen unveiled the Ragster concept which looked pretty much the same. After so much time, you might assume this E-Bugster is a production model, but it isn't. This is another concept.

Volkswagen has already shown plenty of similar concepts, so how is the E-Bugster any different? First, compared to some other concepts you see at motor shows, this is a functioning automobile. In addition, it has something you don't find in one-off prototypes—use of a standardized drive train. That's a big deal.

Sharing Is Caring

The Volkswagen group handed over a record 8.16 million vehicles to its customers in 2011. Record profits are on the way, much of those coming from the use of shared platforms and engines. It's less visible in America, but in Europe, the Skoda and Seat brands sell cars with a Czech or a Spanish flavor (respectively), but they are 100 percent Volkswagen cars underneath. How does this relate to EVs? Barely two months ago, at the Los Angeles motor show, Audi unveiled an electric A3 e-tron concept. It had the same motor as found on this E-Bugster. It's the one we discovered the year before, when Volkswagen introduced an electric Golf, called Blue-e-Motion. Eighty of them are currently undergoing a test in Berlin. That started last June, and preliminary results are very positive. Users are experiencing a range of 93 miles, and they are satisfied with it.

The Volkswagen Golf Blue-e-Motion beginning a test in Berlin

Without much fanfare, Volkswagen is working on electric mobility, making it better in every aspect, and they're already getting results. The motor from the Golf Blue-e-Motion gives 85 kW (115 hp), and this hasn't changed in the E-Bugster concept, but the motor has been made lighter. Its weight is down to 80 kg (176 lbs). The battery pack has more capacity. It was 26.5 kWh in the Golf, and now that's up to 28.3 kWh. Volkswagen says that it enables a range of at least 110 miles. It's impossible to know what cells Volkswagen is using—it tested cells from all manufacturers—but it's unlikely that they will be very small cells like Tesla uses.

The E-Bugster also shows a huge improvement on the charging side. Thanks to a new Combined Charging Systems (CCS), which was developed in cooperation with all the other German carmakers as well as Ford and GM, the car can be charged via an unique interface with different currents.

The Volkswagen E-Bugster concept

The E-Bugster uses the same plug connector to charge from a standard American 110-Volt wall outlet, and up to an ultra-fast 50 kW DC current at electric charge stations. That's way beyond the simple standardization of the plug connector. Volkswagen's plan is to outdo the other car manufacturers that have designed their cars with several charging systems. The idea here is to have one smart charge controller, and a versatile unique electrical architecture to make the most of the current available, wherever the driver plugs in. At best, the 28.3 kWh battery from this E-Bugster can be charged in 35 minutes. Volkswagen will invest what it takes to make it real. Electric cars using this Blue-e-Motion electric powertrain will go into production in cars like the Golf as soon as next year. Other VW electric cars are likely to follow.