This All-Electric Beetle Could Be Volkswagen’s Next Roadster

MONTEREY, California – Volkswagen has all its product bases covered. Small, medium and large; micro and retro; gasoline, diesel and hybrid, even electric. But according to Christian Buhlmann of Volkswagen AG, it’s missing something.

“We still don’t have a two-seat convertible or roadster,” Buhlmann tells me on the side of the winding, mountain road that leads to Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca.

A two-door, two-seat drop-top would round out the automaker’s line-up nicely. But how do you make the business case for such a niche product? Leverage modular architectures, swappable drivetrains and parts sharing from the Volkswagen Group’s cadre of brands.

Its plug-and-play, automaker style, and the E-Bugster concept you see here is the product of Volkswagen’s massive scale and powertrain expertise. It’s an all-electric Beetle using components already on the road, and if Buhlmann and his team have their way, you’ll be able to snag one from a VW dealer in the next few years.

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