VW Camper Van to be revived as a battery-electric vehicle

Oh I hope this is True. This will be my next car, and home ! Read this on Inhabitat :  "Since its launch in the early 1950s, the Volkswagen Westfalia Camper has been an enduring classic, an icon of cross-country adventures and the traveling lifestyle. Production ceased in 2003, but speaking to Autocar at last week’s New York Auto Show, board member Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser revealed that the company is soon to unveil a concept Camper that would revive the classic van as an electric vehicle."

Volkswagen is planning to reveal an updated version of its Microbus camper van concept at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next January prior to an official announcement by its chairman, Martin Winterkorn, confirming the iconic van’s return to the German car maker’s line-up.

Described as a close preview to a planned production version of the Microbus to be produced at Volkswagen’s Puebla factory in Mexico from 2017, the updated concept is set to showcase a newly developed electric drive system among other contemporary connectivity technologies.

The zero local emission driveline, which relies on the Volkswagen Group’s latest lithium-ion battery technology as used by the Audi R8 E-Tron and upcoming Audi E-Tron Quattro concept, is claimed to provide a range of between 400 and 500km (250-310 miles) depending on the driving conditions. It is planned to be offered alongside more conventional turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and diesel powerplants on the production Microbus, which senior Wolfsburg sources describe as being smaller than the latest Multivan.

Volkswagen’s plans to resurrect the Microbus form part of a broader commercial vehicle strategy aimed at significantly bolstering its sales performance in the US market.