Despite (and partly because of) the Buzz’s forward-thinking powertrain, its designers kept the layout admirably close to its classic ancestors. The driver and front passenger sit frighteningly close to a huge panoramic windscreen, which is the result of the wheels being pulled to each of the car’s four corners with very little overhang. Coupled with this torque, you get the feeling of sitting in the first carriage of the airport monorail. The exterior features two-tone paint options, an oversized VW badge, and a V-shaped bonnet line. It’s charmingly retro, although some will no doubt lament the lack of round headlights.

In addition to the longer, three-row model for the US, VW is planning a camper van called the ID. California. Of course, the Buzz has always been meant for van life. Sure, there’s a strong market for it. But the designer of the Buzz had personal reasons for making the vehicle particularly camping-friendly: Klaus Bischoff, chief designer at Volkswagen, drove and camped in a classic bus when he was at school. Fast forward to Gen Z: kids will experience some wild stories in these things, we can hope. Instead of including burn failures or Grateful Dead Lot scenes, they could start with “Remember the time we couldn’t find a charging station?”

[From $40,000 (estimated); vw.com]

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