Volkswagen brings back eT! No, not the 1982 movie character, but their new van concept, which frankly, looks a bit out of this world too. It's about the coolest utility vehicle we have ever seen, if there even is such a thing as a cool commercial vehicle. After unveiling the Volkswagen Bulli concept back in February, VW is revealing today a new van - the eT! (including the exclamation mark). VW developed the eT! electric transporter in collaboration with the German Post Office ('Deutsche Post AG') and the University of Art at Braunschweig. So, the eT! has to be very practical and to look very good.
The Volkswagen eT! is equipped with an electric powertrain and is driven semi-automatically on command.
VW fitted the eT! with a so-called "drive stick", which allows the driver to control the car from the passenger's seat too.
When developing the new eT!, Volkswagen aimed at having a zero-emissions van, designed for urban areas, with semiautomatic driving functions, that will also be emotionally appealing.
The Volkswagen eT! concept will not go into production in the form you see in these images.
In fact, Dr. Rudolf Krebs, Group Manager for Electric Traction at Volkswagen AG, said that "the eT! is not a vehicle which could become available very soon". The eT! will be used as a research vehicle. VW powers the eT! concept with electric wheel hub motors.
The eT! will be able to accomplish several tasks without the intervention of the driver. For instance, he could command the VW eT! to "Come to him" or to "Follow him".
We'll have more details on the Volkswagen eT! as soon as they're available.
