Volkswagen has lifted the wraps off a brace of eco-friendly cars due to make an appearance at this year’s North American International Auto Show: the Beetle-based E-Bugster concept and the new Jetta Hybrid.
The more remarkable looking of the pair has to be the E-Bugster concept, which is based on the new Beetle. Much like the 2005 Beetle Ragster concept, the E-Bugster has received a shot of visual drama courtesy of a roofline chopped by 74 mm and a sporty body kit.
In keeping with the electric revolution that the automotive sphere is currently undergoing, the E-Bugster is powered by an electric motor developing 85 kW and 270 N.m of instantaneous torque. This motor is fed by a lithium-ion battery pack located in the rear of the car that can be charged via mains electricity with a quick-charge (80 per cent of the battery’s capacity) possible within 30 minutes. Impressive stuff, but the Achilles heel of pure EV remains – an overall range of less than 160 km. Volkswagen doesn’t currently have any plans to bring the E-Bugster into production, but that nifty bit of auto-styling could hint at further spin-offs in the Beetle range.
On the production-viable front, VW is also set to unveil the Jetta Hybrid, which will be powered by a 112 kW version of the company’s 1,4-litre twin-charged petrol engine augmented by an electric motor for a combined output of 127 kW.
Equipped with a 7-speed DSG transmission that is capable of de-coupling from the engine to allow an all-electric driving range of about 2 km at speeds of up to 70 km/h, this powerplant will reportedly propel the Jetta Hybrid from 0-100 km/h in less than 9 seconds and is capable of returning a fuel economy figure of 5,2L/100 km.