French Canadian designer, Alexandre Verdier has given the classic VW Westfalia Camper Van a complete eco-overhaul, re-instating it’s hippy creds.
The new eco-wagon has a system of ‘intelligent’ solar power panels on the roof that can power all of the on board accessories while the vehicle is in a stationary position as well as an on-board computer with wireless internet and a GPS system that calculates the optimal position for the solar panels. The mini-kitchen swivels out, allowing users to cook outside as well as inside. A pneumatic suspension ensures that the van will stay properly balanced when parked while the 200hp hybrid gas/electric engine ensures a sense of dignity at the gas pump.
Still stuck on a computer screen, the van will eventually sell for around $69,000.
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When I think VW Westphalia & Hippy Cred, I think Marcel Breuer. What are a pair of B3 chairs doing in that mockup? There wouldn’t even be anywhere to put them in the van, they don’t fold, and they don’t stack and they just don’t fit.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I AM VERY MUCH IMPRESSED WITH THIS CONCEPT. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT BUT THE PROPOSED $69,000 IS A LITTLE RICH FOR MY BUDGET. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING AND HEARING MORE ABOUT THIS EXCITEING VECHILE.
ADRIAN WHITE…LAKE OZARK, MO
July 8th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
the world has waited a very long time for the brass rings at vw to get their shit together and produce something already that rekindles the iconic spirit of the classic microbus. so much time wasted!!! vw better act soon or this whole trend will take off without them
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:49 am
ooooohhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!
this makes me happy..
August 12th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Hippies stink, but Westies are incredible. I often day-dream about what it would have been like to drive a factory-fresh mid-70s Westie off the lot…nearly air-tight, no leaks, engine purring like a sewing-machine. I had a couple in my day; both with me owning them well past their prime by nearly 20-years. Still, I loved driving and fiddling with them dearly. Such intelligent and highly maintainable engineering. An engine I could actually remove and carry to the workbench without any assistance. I doubt that mystique will be attached to this new design though; the complexities of these new systems while making them more reliable, have also made them less “friendly”. And my little Westies were my friends.
(BTW: the line “it’s hippy creds” should be “its hippy creds”)
November 7th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
how do you order one?
April 21st, 2009 at 11:39 am