The myth of Bulli (a fusion, in German, of the terms for bus and truck) has lasted for seventy years: since, that is, the Wolfsburg engineers welded a van body onto the floor of the Beetle. Refined generation after generation, it has now reached the seventh, with new challenges: the Multivan T7 – to use the official name – according to the designers of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles throws down the gautlet also to the V-Class of Mercedes and aims to become the benchmark of people carriers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/autodesignmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Volkswagen_T72.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>“We wanted a timeless, quiet and relaxed design,\u201d explains Max Gutbier, the senior exterior designer who took care of the shape: “Large surfaces, pleasant proportions, but also more sculpted shapes so that it did not have the appearance of a large box.\u201d Hence the more angled A-pillar, the backward driver position thanks also to the use of the last generation of the MQB platform (Modularer Querbaukasten, for transverse front-wheel drive engines).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Markus Rudlof, also a senior exterior designer, echoes him: “T7 is more comfortable than the previous model, thanks also to the new suspension. It has a more dynamic and agile aspect.\u201d It is 4.97 meters long (but there will also be a version with a rear overhang increased by 20 cm). With the seats folded down it has a load capacity that exceeds 4 m3, while a wheelbase of 3.12 m allows seven independent seats (the bench in the third row has been eliminated).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>To maintain the character of the original Bulli, as Rudlof recalls, the four large wheels at the corners and the belt line dividing the minivan into two parts were essential. Quickly done: “An aluminium strip – explains Gutbier – starts from the front light clusters and runs along the side, also defining the line of the two-tone paint.\u201d As in the previous model the front is horizontally developed: \u201cThe grille – Gutbier continues – is practically gone, because the cooling takes place at the bottom, and this allows for a nice clean design. Above all, it gives the vehicle, with its face and eyes higher, a friendly aspect, with a kind of smile from the line that connects the two headlights.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>