Return of the Thing rumoured
Hot on the heels of the Volkswagen Kombiaping I.D. Buzz concept comes the somewhat pleasing rumour that another relic from the German car giant’s past could be about to get a modern makeover.
An American car magazine swears black and blue that the stripped-out, boxy, militarily minded Kubelwagen could rejoin the Volkswagen line-up as — but of course — an electric vehicle.
This all sounds somewhat improbable if you ask us, but the vehicle, says the magazine, could be a goer and would likely be built on the same MEB platform as the yellow and white ‘leccy “love bus” design that has been doing the motor show rounds this year.
That same platform also underpins the Volkswagen I.D. Crozz concept, which we’re hoping — if all these retro vibes in the air at Volkswagen are to be taken seriously — may morph into some sort of Vee Dub Fastback model that will sit alongside the New Beetle.
Okay, wishful thinking in all likelihood, but a re-imagined Kubelwagen (or “Thing”, as the American arm of the manufacturer unfortunately decided to market it) would be a head-turner.
We’re imagining something along the lines of the Citroen E-Mehari electric concept from a few years back; the original of which shares the Kubelwagen’s tin-shed-on-wheels aesthetic.
We’ll keep our ear to the rumour mill. And if all these back-to-thefuture EV concepts from Volkswagen are starting to wear thin, take solace in the fact that at least they’ll never be able to make an electric Schwimmwagen — the Kubelwagen’s amphibious cousin.