Latest iPad Accessory: an Electric VW Bus

[Paul Daniel Ash]

The put-an-iPad-in-your-car trend hasn't really caught on, and that's kind of a shame. The iPad really does make an ideal instrument panel/car audio controller, but implementations to date haven't been that impressive. However, Volkswagen has been turning heads at the Geneva Auto Show with it's 21st century re-imagining of the VW Bus as an electric vehicle with a built-in iPad, and the way they implemented it is drawing raves.

Volkswagen's concept car is called the Bulli, which is what the VW Bus was called in West Germany when it was first released in 1950. It shares the bench seats and two-tone paint job of its namesake but other than that and the big VW logo on the front, it bears no resemblance to the original. This is a four-door city car, rather than a minivan, and what's more it has an all-electric drivetrain. Its 113 horsepower electric motor gets the Bulli from 0 to 60 in about 11 seconds, almost twice as fast as its namesake. It has a top speed of 87 mph, and the 40 kWh lithium ion battery pack gives it a range of 185.4 miles.



The iPad can be docked to a mount on the dash that swivels so that it faces either the driver or the front seat passenger. It can also be removed so the folks in the back can use it to access the same multifunctional display that's behind the steering wheel: the speedometer, navigation system, telephone and trip computer are all available on the iPad. You can also use it to control the vehicle's "media center," including the sound system designed by Fender, the American guitar and amplifier manufacturer.

The Bulli is only a concept car, but VW did tell attendees of the Geneva Auto Show that direct-injection versions of the automaker's gasoline and diesel powerplants, in displacements of from 1.0 liters to 1.4 liters, could fit inside the engine compartment. So it's possible that we could see a production version of this vehicle... eventually. The popular New Beetle first appeared in auto shows as a concept in the early 1990s, years before it rolled off showroom floors.




Source: Engadget, images via Volkswagen

[nautical79]

Sweet cars and apple

[delusion950]

this is just the beginning of Apple ! More is coming

[Thelongamer]

Wow that's pretty nifty. I'd totally get one, love VW and apple products so do the math you got yourself a fun ride! Plus electric! That's intuitive love the future haha

[vantheman169]

Badass

[feidhlim1986]

Just as using a handheld phone is illegal while driving, how long before using a Tablet while driving is illegal? Or maybe it is already?

[moon#pie]

People suck enough as it is with driving. They don't need anything else in their line of thought.

[joe97]

the iPad incorporated in the car is cool, actually I think it's pretty awesome, but I'm still not sold on any electric car...what is it that I heard something like the Volt gets 40 or so miles on a full charge but 290 some odd on a full tank of gas..hmmm.....plus forget about towing or carrying anything of any size--

[moon#pie]

the iPad incorporated in the car is cool, actually I think it's pretty awesome, but I'm still not sold on any electric car...what is it that I heard something like the Volt gets 40 or so miles on a full charge but 290 some odd on a full tank of gas..hmmm.....plus forget about towing or carrying anything of any size--

Electric cars are useless unless the power comes from off-grid. Otherwise the energy is still made using fossil fuels.

[joe97]

^^ yup ^^

[steve-z17]

Pretty snazzy looking.

[GellBrake'rrrr]

Not a big fan of the latest vehicles that look like boxes.... But this is an exception.

[Cer0]

Yea but VW had the box look before Scion.

VW vans are always a classic.

[DinoDrew]

Pretty awesome
I still like how the old Volkswagen bus looks rather than the new model

[GellBrake'rrrr]

Yea but VW had the box look before Scion.

VW vans are always a classic.

NEGATIVE!!! Volkswagen has never made anything that Is as square as the Scion. Don't get me wrong, they may have been a little boxy.... But the edges were a lot more tapered off than they are these days. The old school bus was more like a Twinkie. The new Scion's are like a "BOX". yet, this is my opinion.... But I see a difference between the two. /Especially/ since today's vehicles are more about being smooth and aerodynamic.

[iphoneadam]

My GTI would pretty much smoke anybody's auto/bike around here

[Cer0]

NEGATIVE!!! Volkswagen has never made anything that Is as square as the Scion. Don't get me wrong, they may have been a little boxy.... But the edges were a lot more tapered off than they are these days.

True

My GTI would pretty much smoke anybody's auto/bike around here

I miss my GTI but the winters here sucked because I had no winter car. So traded it in for a Jetta.

[thrash907]

ill take the bike

[rickieschelfo]

There have been people putting Mac mini's and iPad's in their cars since they came out. There is a website devoted to carputers that could use some creative minds from here to create apps or a front end that is usable. check out mp3car.com and look in the forums under MacCar.

[iPittsburgh]

My GTI would pretty much smoke anybody's auto/bike around here

I doubt that.