Now that the Volkswagen ID.Buzz is available for purchase, at least in Europe, the company is trying to generate some, uhhh, buzz about upcoming variants.
Kai Gruenitz, head of research and development for the Volkswagen brand, told Autocar the upcoming ID.Buzz GTX will sport a 250kW dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain that’s more powerful than the 220kW setup in the ID.4 GTX crossover.
Right now the ID.Buzz is available exclusively with a rear-mounted electric motor making 150kW and 310Nm. Fitted with a 77kWh battery pack, the ID.Buzz requires 10.2 seconds to complete the 0-100km/h standard.
Standard ID.Buzz pictured throughout
A second all-wheel drive option with fewer kilowatts and no GTX branding will also be available in some overseas markets.
In addition to being brisker than the standard ID.Buzz, the GTX will also have a “dedicated interior, new exterior colours and some additional features”.
If the ID.4 GTX is anything to go by, we can expect to see new alloy wheels, colour-coded lower body plastic, more aggressive styling, and a red-themed interior, as well as optional adaptive shocks and lowered suspension.
The existing ID.Buzz is 4712mm long, and rides on a 2989mm wheelbase, allowing it to seat five people across two non-removable rows in comfort, as well as carry plenty of gear in the boot.
But for the upcoming long-wheelbase ID.Buzz, the people mover will have an extra 250mm between the wheels.
Gruenitz says the LWB model will have three rows, and seat up to seven people. Some of these seats can be removed for improved cargo-carrying capacity, while the middle row will feature captain’s chairs that can be turned around.
The R&D chief also confirmed the company is working on the California camper van version of the ID.Buzz. According to the British magazine, this variant will go on sale globally from 2025.
We’re not sure when, or if, these variants will be coming Down Under in the near term, but Volkswagen is hoping to have the ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo in Australian showrooms from the middle of 2024.
