Volkswagen Beetle Set to Go Electric and Rear-Wheel Drive

DooKey

DooKey

[H]F Junkie
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Volkswagen is actively considering plans for an electric, rear-wheel-drive successor to today’s Beetle as part of a range of zero-emissions models based on its new MEB (Modular Electric Baukasten) platform, according to the German car maker’s chairman, Herbert Diess. If I was in the market for an electric this might be something I'd really look at just because of the nostalgia factor. Anyway, it's good to see another major manufacturer moving into electric vehicles. I bet VW doesn't have problems producing enough of these cars once they begin production.

Diess denies that a firm decision on the Beetle's successor has been made. However, he suggests that any direct successor model would be electric. "If we wanted to do a Beetle, electrically it would be much better than today’s model, much closer to history, because it could be rear-wheel drive," he adds.
 
Don't you dare say RWD car in the United States around GM and Ford unless you plan on dropping big bucks on luxury brands.
 
And by zero emissions they mean it will have a 4 cyl engine underneath the passenger seat that only an authorized VW mechanic will know exists and be able to fix the 'electrical issue' preventing the car from operating.
 
Hope they offer a basic model that isn't loaded up with all sorts of gizmos and features that add $10,000 to $20,000 to end price.
 
Volkswagen Beetle Set to Go Electric
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and Rear-Wheel Drive
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Shintai said:
RW drive? Why...
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Here's one area I KIND OF agree with you.

Front wheel drive has the majority of the weight over the front wheels where steering is critical. This makes it more useful in rain and snow. FWD also are more efficient as you don't have to worry about the driveline to a transaxle.

Rear wheel is when you do hard accelerations and want to steer by torque (when things get dicey you point the front in and add some gas - viper & vette)

While electric motors and batteries shift the center of gavirty, I don't see the Beatle being a track car. Are they trying to turn it into a drifter? Not very practical for the original "people's car"
 
After the nice way they handled my TDI return, I would consider a new VW. I'll probably secretly hope that they'll want to buy that back 6 years later too, though :D
 
More than almost any other car company, VW is always talking about shit and then not actually doing anything in a timely manner. Let's take a look at VW's innovative products in the US market... Oops they don't have any. They even killed off the Jetta Hybrid.
 
toast0 said:
After the nice way they handled my TDI return, I would consider a new VW. I'll probably secretly hope that they'll want to buy that back 6 years later too, though :D
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Don't you think there will be a hell of a lot of understeer like the original?
 
DigitalGriffin said:
Here's one area I KIND OF agree with you.

Front wheel drive has the majority of the weight over the front wheels where steering is critical. This makes it more useful in rain and snow. FWD also are more efficient as you don't have to worry about the driveline to a transaxle.
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FWD has nothing to do with weight distribution as in most vehicles the engine is still in the front of the vehicle. It's more a function of the "push vs pull" aspect where FWD cars are pulling the rear wheels along, thereby reducing the chances of power oversteer. The downside is that, since all of the weight is up front, plus the front wheels being the drive wheels and the turning wheels, you tend to lose overall grip in the front due to the front tires being tasked with doing everything. It doesn't necessarily affect every day driving, but in extreme conditions (snow, ice, etc), or during more performance oriented driving it can impact steering and more specifically, braking performance.

Rear wheel is when you do hard accelerations and want to steer by torque (when things get dicey you point the front in and add some gas - viper & vette)
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Rear wheel drive carries more grip overall than a FWD car. While it's true that it's typically more useful in performance driving than anything else, having each set of wheels with their own dedicated job tends to allow each set to do their job better overall. And, as an aside, the old cliche of "RWD cars can't be driven in bad weather" doesn't really hold true anymore as that was more of a byproduct of the tires of the time than anything else. Tires and suspension tech have advanced so much over the last two or three decades that I wouldn't have a qualm about driving a RWD vehicle even in icy conditions with the right set of wheels on it.

While electric motors and batteries shift the center of gavirty, I don't see the Beatle being a track car. Are they trying to turn it into a drifter? Not very practical for the original "people's car"
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The Beatles were better as a band anyway. The Beetle however is a niche car nowdays similar to the Mazda Miata and Cooper Mini. Having it be a boring A-to-B transport machine isn't going to help sales at all as more and more people move to crossovers for their daily traveling needs. It's not about being a track monster or drift king. It's about being a fun car to drive on the bi-ways and back roads. Places where you go to drive and not just to get from home to work.
 
BlueFireIce said:
When the new Beetle was first announced, I was so excited, I was thinking yay, a new light weight, rear engine, RWD car that's actually affordable! And then the POS that it was came out. Total let down as a big type I fan myself.
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And don't forget the icing on the cake:

bug3.jpg


bug2.jpg


bug.jpg
 
U-238 said:
FWD has nothing to do with weight distribution as in most vehicles the engine is still in the front of the vehicle. It's more a function of the "push vs pull" aspect where FWD cars are pulling the rear wheels along, thereby reducing the chances of power oversteer. The downside is that, since all of the weight is up front, plus the front wheels being the drive wheels and the turning wheels, you tend to lose overall grip in the front due to the front tires being tasked with doing everything. It doesn't necessarily affect every day driving, but in extreme conditions (snow, ice, etc), or during more performance oriented driving it can impact steering and more specifically, braking performance.



Rear wheel drive carries more grip overall than a FWD car. While it's true that it's typically more useful in performance driving than anything else, having each set of wheels with their own dedicated job tends to allow each set to do their job better overall. And, as an aside, the old cliche of "RWD cars can't be driven in bad weather" doesn't really hold true anymore as that was more of a byproduct of the tires of the time than anything else. Tires and suspension tech have advanced so much over the last two or three decades that I wouldn't have a qualm about driving a RWD vehicle even in icy conditions with the right set of wheels on it.



The Beatles were better as a band anyway. The Beetle however is a niche car nowdays similar to the Mazda Miata and Cooper Mini. Having it be a boring A-to-B transport machine isn't going to help sales at all as more and more people move to crossovers for their daily traveling needs. It's not about being a track monster or drift king. It's about being a fun car to drive on the bi-ways and back roads. Places where you go to drive and not just to get from home to work.
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Yeah it is obvious you don't have a degree in Engineering or Physics.

The amount if grip is mu-static * weight. As most of the weight on just about all cars is up front (with the exception of mid engines) that means the front wheels have the most tractive force. As your front wheels also control direction it makes sense to put the power there.

Unfortunately fwd doesn't serve well on the track because of issues like over steer and torque steer.

With true sports cars the weight is closer to 50:50 front to rear. And when you accellerate hard your weight shifts to the rear. (The result of the center of gravity above the drive line). Hence forth why it's preferred for sports cars. And when you are stopping weight shift up front. That is why front disc brakes are larger.

It's unnerving for people who drive fwd when they go to rwd and push it to the limits. Their first instinct when they start to hear tire chirp and feel it in the wheel is to let off the gas which forces the car to slow down and weight shirt forward. You do that on a rwd car and you will loose your tail. You have to keep steady pressure on the gas and torque push your car through a curve. The only time you let off the gas is if you screwed the pooch and went into the curve way too fast in the first place. In that case you are screwed no matter what. And the only time you need this behavior is for aggressive driving like on a track. That leaves out 99% of us. (Although I did have fun at blue mountain and summit point)

And while things like ferro magnetic active suspension have improved things for rwd, they still aren't superior for every day driving where the majority of weight is on the front wheels.
 
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BlueFireIce said:
I prefer this over flower power.

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As you should.:D

You don't know how many dudes I've seen that I wanted to throat punch for driving a yellow bug with a pink flower next to their kneecap. Smh.
And I doubt it was their old lady's ride.
 
Forget FWD or RWD, if it's electric and, supposedly, if it is as easy to turn into RWD as the VW boss says it is, then I want AWD.

Sure, there is going to be some added weight to the whole thing, but AWD is just better. Especially so, if anything modern is used, where the power can be distributed to where it is needed.
 
You now what would be great VW? Maybe an electric MiniBus.
Make it happen, do it now.
All electric with multi-fuel capable range extender.
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I will gladly throw money at this, lots of it. A beatle...not so much.
 
I'll take a MiniBus but it would have to go the opposite direction. :D Stiff suspension, Porsche 3.2 liter air/oil cooled flat six, Porsche/Fuchs wheels, etc.
 
J3RK said:
You obviously have never ENJOYED driving, or you'd know why.
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Enjoy driving / VW bug. Something is amiss here.

I'm more concerned about RWD and Electric. = all torque instantly at the back wheels. Recipe for disaster, unless completely neutered by traction control. So no, just no.

Also, you can enjoy driving without RWD. You cannot do powerslides without it. But I'd hope you don't want to do those on public roads.
 
M76 said:
Enjoy driving / VW bug. Something is amiss here.

I'm more concerned about RWD and Electric. = all torque instantly at the back wheels. Recipe for disaster, unless completely neutered by traction control. So no, just no.

Also, you can enjoy driving without RWD. You cannot do powerslides without it. But I'd hope you don't want to do those on public roads.
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I didn't say anything about a bug. I was addressing FWD / RWD. Now IF (big IF there) I for some reason wanted a new Bug, then I would STILL prefer that it was RWD. Then it might actually be kind of fun. There is a lot more than power slides to RWD too. And on public roads, sometimes it's just fun to kick the tail out a bit when nobody's around. Nobody said anything about driving completely recklessly.
 
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