VW Bulli concept revives Microbus with iPad as center stack
updated 04:10 pm EST, Tue March 1, 2011
VW Bulli concept brings iPad for media features
VW used the start of the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday to bring out a concept with the iPad as a central feature. The Bulli concept recalls the Microbus but has Apple's tablet as the center stack. Along with serving as a media player and an Internet source, the iPad fills in as control for Bluetooth phone calls and GPS navigation, our teammates at Leftlane News learned.
The iPad would be detachable and wouldn't necessarily take over core functions. Climate control and other core functions that normally show on the center column would sit on the iPad's dedicated mount.
VW also promises a handful of other unique touches that would mix technology with nostalgia, including a Fender-created audio system with acoustics tuned to make sound seem live. The Bulli is a full electric car, putting out the equivalent of 114HP, and would use a lithium-ion battery that could get an unusually long 186-mile range and could charge at high-power outlets in as little as an hour.
As with most concepts, VW hasn't said if or when it would turn the Bulli into a full production car, but it has more recently been pledging real-world versions of cars like its Up! designs.
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Their last concept microbus never made it into mass production. My first car was a '78 VW microbus, so I'd take one of these in a heartbeat!