The return of an icon. With the id. Buzz and the ID. Buzz Cargo (complete design story in Auto&Design no. 254), Volkswagen brings the T1 DNA into the present and the future. Like the first Bulli from 1950, the new models have a clean and functional design, but at the same time evoke great emotions. How was this possible? “The T1 was an icon of the 1950s,” says Jozef Kabaň, head of Volkswagen Design. “With the ID. Buzz, we are transferring its DNA into the age of electric mobility, bringing the genes and design elements of the icon into the digital age. The ID. Buzz is timeless, sustainable and extremely functional at the same time. These qualities make it unique. It attracts a lot of sympathy and a sense of belonging on the road.” Redesigning such a special object is every designer’s dream. In the case of ID. Buzz, the project was even more exciting, as it was a matter of bringing the legendary van back to life in the age of electric mobility while retaining all its positive values and strong emotional appeal.
With their lines, the ID. Buzz and the ID. Buzz Cargo follow their ancestor. “An icon has a lot to do with simplicity,” says Marco Antonio Pavone, head of Volkswagen Exterior Design. “Any child can draw a car like the T1 with just a few lines. And when I see the ID. Buzz, I can say, ‘Wow, that really came out well,'” adds Roland Faller, head of Exterior Design at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, who continues: “The ID. Buzz Cargo is not only a practical van, it is also a remarkable innovation with its expressive design and high degree of functionality.” The model represents to all intents and purposes a bridge between past and future. That is why the Volkswagen Style Centre designers were given a twofold task: to evoke the image of the T1 through some typical styling elements and to express coherence with the design philosophy of the new ID family built on the MEB platform.
The compact electric drive and the battery integrated into the vehicle bed result in an open space and volume concept that puts people and their needs even more at the center. The driver and passengers have plenty of space and numerous storage compartments and interfaces, while the feeling is generous, light and airy. Jozef Kabaň: “We developed a vehicle layout with a very logical and intuitive interior concept and variable use of space.” The front seats of the ID. Buzz are located in a relatively high position, typical for vans, and are equipped with armrests. For the interior, the horizontal layout of the dashboard has been maintained. Linearity and formal cleanness are the leitmotif of the interior, just like for the exterior. The designers wanted to bring to the interior of the ID. Buzz that domestic feeling, of a vehicle to live in, that has always characterised the T1. The aim is to convey the sense of well-being, the feeling of being at home, and for this reason everything has been organised with extreme simplicity, but with great attention to detail for a modern ambience, with a digital interface as intuitive to use as your smartphone.
