With the pandemic becoming less of an issue as people get vaccinated and head out into the world, beloved automotive events are starting to come back online. One, the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance, is taking place right now, and features some of the rarest, coolest, and most expensive vehicles in the country.
This year’s event will be preceded by a parade of electric vehicles called Taking Charge, which will feature several electrified models. Volkswagen brought two EVs to the event this year, but there’s a surprising twist with one of them. The ID.4 electric crossover will take part in the parade, and the other is a rare electrified bus form over 40 years ago.
Early EVs had almost no power or range.Photo courtesy of Volkswagen AG
Volkswagen’s brand-new ID.4 electric crossover will participate in the parade. By now, most of you have probably heard about the vehicle, VW’s first fully electric crossover. It recently took home 2021 World Car of the Year honors, and is on sale now.
The ID.4 is cool, but it’s the vintage EV that really caught our eye. The 1978 Elekrotransporter is based on a Volkswagen Type 2, and was originally used by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). VW says that it produced a handful of electrified bus and Golf models in the 1960s and 70s to test the feasibility of EV powertrains and charging. The Electric Power Research Institute snapped up ten buses to test with the TVA at the time.
The EV was powered by 24 lead-acid batteries.Volkswagen
The electrified bus carries 24 lead-acid batteries held in a 1,225-pound pack under its floor. The electric motor is bolted directly to the existing gearbox, which is permanently locked in second gear and sends power to the rear wheels. The early electric powertrain only generated 23 horsepower, which gave the bus a top speed of just 48 mph. It did feature an early version of regenerative braking, a feature that is onboard nearly every EV made today.
The bus used a combo of electric and existing drivetrain components.Volkswagen
It’s easy to draw a line from the old Elektrotransporter to today’s VW electric vehicles. The ID.BUZZ concept is the old EV’s direct descendent, and will enter production in the EU in 2022. Unlike its grandfather, the ID.BUZZ will produce a combined system output of 225 kW, which equates to around 300 horsepower.
