Electric VW Beach Buggy Could Debut In Geneva, Might Reach Production

Volkswagen is preparing to launch an assortment of new electric vehicles and a number of them have been previewed by the ID, ID Buzz, ID Crozz and ID Vizzion concepts.

While the aforementioned models are fairly traditional, aside from their electric powertrain, a new report is claiming Volkswagen is working on an electric beach buggy.

The report should be taken with a grain of salt, but Autocar says the company is eyeing a new model which would be a modern interpretation of the Meyers Manx. The Manx, as you may recall, was based on the Volkswagen Beetle.

Since the company has already announced the Beetle is going out of production, the beach buggy will reportedly be underpinned by the MEB platform. The model is also rumored to have an open air cabin, a roll bar and a “free-standing windscreen.”

The beach buggy is reportedly being created at Volkswagen’s research and development center in Braunschweig, Germany and is rumored to be one of three retro-inspired models under development. The other two are said to be the aforementioned ID Buzz and a five-door take on the Beetle.

If the report is to be believed, the beach buggy will be unveiled at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The model will likely debut as a concept, but it could eventually go into production as the car is said to be under “active consideration.”

While there’s little doubt an electric beach buggy would be interesting, it’s hard to see how Volkswagen would be able to build a business case for the model. The buggy would have limited appeal and slow sales would make it difficult to recoup development costs.

Regardless, Volkswagen hasn’t been shy about producing cool concepts and leaving them to wither on the vine. The well-received BlueSport concept is probably the best example as fans were clamoring for the Mazda MX-5 competitor.

It’s also worth mentioning that Volkswagen isn’t a stranger to beach buggy concepts as the company introduced the Buggy Up in 2011. That particular model was based on the up! and was heavily inspired by the Meyers Manx.

Note: Buggy Up concept pictured