Beetle is a phenomenon . No matter what place, anywhere in the world, he appears, people are happy to see him. Whether in wintry Detroit, sunny San Francisco or dignified Boston – the Beetle enlivens the streets and contributes to a relaxed living atmosphere. It works the same way in Europe, in vibrant Berlin or dynamic London. And the same applies to Asian capitals, such as lively Tokyo or the eternally exotic Hong Kong.
The more examples of this stylistic icon drive on the roads, the more this friendly phenomenon gains strength . Volkswagen is now coming up with another novelty, the Beetle Dune , which made its world premiere at the NAIAS auto show in Detroit . It's the Beetle in a wider, more agile and rugged off-road design; car outside the mainstream.
A study close to serial production
The Beetle Dune is still a study , but everything about this car is doable. In near-production form in the middle of a Michigan winter, this car points the way to next summer. And before the sun melts the last remnants of snow in this state, Dune proves that even the cold season has its fascinating side in the form of winter sports.
Therefore, the designers increased the ground clearance of the Beetle model by 50 mm and attached a pair of skis to its back. As before with the legendary Beetle or air-cooled Porsche sports cars. The Dune features a raised body, large 19" wheels and an off-road design that calls directly to the conquest of beaches and dunes in the style of earlier VW buggies . So in the summer, the crew goes sandboarding, with the " boards " on the tailgate, safely secured through ingenious mechanisms on the rear and roof spoiler. Surf the dunes, for example at Sand Master Park in Florence, Oregon. Volkswagen returns with the Beetle Dune model to an idea that was born in January 2000 in the form of the New Beetle Dune study , presented in Los Angeles. However, while the study on display in California was particularly " science fiction " in interior and roof construction, Volkswagen is looking much more realistically towards series production with the 2014 Dune concept.
The Dune concept offers the potential for a new production version of the sportiest Beetle model ever . Its body is painted in yellow-orange metallic " Arizona ". This warm color instantly lifts the mood. Two-piece wheel arch extensions are distinguished by black. The base is made up of matte robust additional elements that are also used in the Volkswagen Cross models. The difference is that slats with a thickness of only 1.5 mm are integrated above the matte main parts. These elements give the impression of floating above the massive wheel arches, as the glossy and matte parts do not directly touch. The wheel arches – always with a cut-out in the shape of half a hexagon at the top – extend the body on each side by a considerable 24 mm. The total width thus increased by 48 mm to 1856 mm. The Beetle Dune is 4290 mm (+12 mm) long and 1536 mm (+50 mm) high.
The wider width of the body corresponds to the widened wheel track , by 29 mm at the front to 1607 mm, at the rear by 29 mm to 1573 mm. Thanks to this fact and the smaller overhang of the 33 mm wheels (instead of 44 mm), the 19" wheels with 255/45 tires (diameter: 723 mm) perfectly fill the wheel arches. The wheels visually follow the design of the 18" " Twister " wheels for the Beetle model with their five aluminum spokes, black painted spacers and polished aluminum ring; the VW logo in the middle of the wheel is carried by a 3D module painted in body color.
The widening of the wheel arches goes into the side sill covers, into which the chrome protection of the lower part of the car is integrated. The upper parts, through which the sills connect to the body, are glossy black . Above the side sills are the typical Beetle side moldings in the stylized form of the legendary Beetle steps . These elements are also glossy black. Even higher, in the area in front of the rear fenders, is a distinctive Dune logo . The covers of the exterior mirrors are decorated with a steamed layer of bright aluminum. The heel of the mirror, integrated in the corner of the A-pillar, is black.
Beetle Dune – Exterior
Designers designed the front part of the car largely anew. The iconic basic design with circular bi-xenon headlights was retained. However, the design of the even more charismatic engine hood is new. The middle part of the hood+y is now slightly higher. The lowered side parts of the large hood, defined by precise edges, carry prominent openings in the upper area for air extraction from the engine compartment. The black ventilation grills have a honeycomb structure with slats. In the middle of these grilles, there is always one chrome strip placed in the longitudinal direction.
Just like the hood, the newly designed front bumper also presents itself extremely dynamically. The main stylistic element is a large central air intake with a black honeycomb grille (a typical stylistic element of Volkswagen Cross models). The grille in the shape of the letter A expands downwards, thus enhancing the sovereign and sporty appearance of the front part . The grille is inserted into a chrome frame, which also serves as a protective panel for the lower part of the car.
To the left and right of the central air intake and the aluminum cover of the lower part of the car , there are two decorative elements in the shape of a trapezoid, which narrows towards the middle. Their frame, like the inclined surfaces of the wheel arches, is painted in glossy black. These elements embody the most innovative lighting design. The LED fog lights placed here have a semi-circular shape, and on the inside these rings of LED diodes are matted to create a homogeneous band of light. A stylized nozzle in the middle of the ring of LEDs underlines the three-dimensional graphics of the entire fog lamp module. Above it run three fine bars and a narrow chrome bar, which, despite its height of only 9 mm , serves as a direction indicator with LEDs. As soon as the driver turns on the direction indicator, it becomes a chrome bar, a glowing strip of LEDs .
The design philosophy of " form subordinated to function " can also be reversed, as the multifunctional rear part of the Beetle Dune study shows in a remarkable way. Who is sorry to spend the winter in the northern hemisphere only in the snow slush of the big city, he can simply go to the nearest ski resort in the new Volkswagen . At the same time, it is indifferent whether sandboarding in Florence, Oregon or downhill skiing in Aspen, Colorado makes more sense – from an American's point of view.
Beetle Dune – Interior
The team that designed Dune also individualized the complete interior , both visually and technically. Two things are particularly striking. First – The decorative panel on the instrument panel, which is painted in the same color as the body in " Arizona ", this time does not contain the legendary compartment from the Beetle model . In this case, it gave way to the no less legendary handle of the very first Beetle model. The handle is made of rubberized material like the handles in the door panels and carries an inserted aluminum buckle in the body color. The Dune inscription is stamped into the aluminum, which is a gem both visually and haptically. Second – The complete infotainment system takes the form of a digital interface with a 7.7-inch high-resolution touchscreen . The designers used an AMOLED display that displays extremely fine details. A memory of the New Beetle Dune from 2000 is the digital display of the current longitudinal and transverse tilt, which was then integrated into the main instrument.
A unique software interface solution in the 2014 Beetle Dune study is the “ Volkswagen Sideways ” application – a program that actively incorporates points of interest into the navigation. At the same time, the touch screen shows not only the location and type of restaurants in the nearby area, but also whether friends are there . On request, the driver of the Dune study can take you directly to them. In addition, the Sideways app also incorporates other information, such as the weather, into POI notes – thus eliminating navigation to a swimming pool in winter. The instrument cluster has a classic analogue form with a tachometer (left), speedometer (middle) and fuel gauge (right). However, the gauges are not white like in the production cars, but shine in the " Arizona " color shade. The same applies to the additional instrument scales above the center console with the boost pressure indicator, stopwatches and engine oil temperature indicator.
The study is equipped with sports seats with a noble appearance. The outer surfaces of the front sports seats and the two rear seats are covered with natural leather in a titanium black shade. The middle areas , on the other hand, are covered in an extremely breathable fabric (" Gobi ") in the light color shade " Ceramique ". The joints of the leather and fabric surfaces and the front and back of the headrests are decorated with distinctive stitching – in the “ Arizona ” color shade, of course .
"Sand Beetle" Heart
The Beetle has never been so dynamic. This is evidenced by the four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with a power of 210 hp, with which the Beetle Dune , equipped with a six-speed DSG gearbox, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 7.5 seconds . If necessary, it is possible to reach a top speed of 227 km/h – in America it is a speed for racing circuits, in Germany for a free autobahn. The Beetle Dune consumes 23 mpg (10.2 l/100 km) in the city and 29 mpg (8.1 l/100 km) on the highway according to the US EPA methodology.
More remarkable and important, however, is the masterful way in which this Volkswagen transfers the driving force to the road. A front-wheel-drive car in this area takes advantage of its first-class chassis layout ( precisely guided front wheels on MacPherson struts and an innovative four-link rear axle ). In the case of the more powerful Beetle models with turbocharged petrol engines – and thus the Dune study – the XDS electronic differential lock is also part of the equipment.
It is clear that the Beetle Dune could soon appear in cities such as Detroit, San Francisco, Boston, Berlin, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney or Cape Town, with adequate interest from NAIAS auto show visitors and international media. It is a car outside the mainstream . A car that makes people happy when they see it. That sounds like a cult. And it is also a cult .
Source: Volkswagen
