High-tech meets history ID. Buzz – on the road with the DNA of an icon

Dieter Rams is Germany’s best-known functionalist industrial designer and is world-famous. He designed iconic products for Braun, including the T3 pocket radio in 1968. Forty years later, this hit design inspired Chief Design Officer at Apple, Jony Ive, to such an extent that he used it as the basis for the first iPod – the precursor to the iPhone. Rams views good design as being innovative, purposeful, aesthetic, user friendly, well thought out, honest, and environmentally friendly. Good design is as little design as possible. This is summed up in his guiding principle: “Less but better.”

In the world of modern mobility, this means that automobiles should also be functional – and the new ID. Buzz is precisely that. As a high-tech “Bulli” with the latest generation of software, it can be transformed via over-the-air updates and upgrades. With a state-of-the-art UI/UX (user experience), it is reduced to the essentials, and thus progressive, when it comes to useability.

Or, in the words of Poul Henningsen, the inventor of the PH5 lamp for Louis Poulsen in 1958: “The future just happens, progress does not.” This approach has also been taken with the new ID. Buzz.

In conclusion, icons are long-lasting, high-quality products. Functionality and aesthetic go hand in hand. This is certainly true of the Volkswagen T1, or the “Bulli”, as it is lovingly known by its fans and devotees. One of the most legendary models in the history of Volkswagen, and in the automotive world as a whole.

But why? The “Bulli” combines versatile use, the feeling of freedom, and maximum use of space with a minimal footprint. A design philosophy also followed by the world-famous architect and founder of the Bauhaus school, Walter Gropius: “Architecture should reflect life and the times.” This concept is also applied in the new ID. Buzz. It is a companion in all situations – whether in everyday life, leisure time, or business.

The ID. Buzz develops and combines the most important automotive trends of our time and the characteristic features of the Volkswagen T1 van in a versatile and progressive “Bulli” – with an electric motor. However, compared to the 1950s, there are even more diverse demands on a modern “minibus for everyone”: the ID. Buzz is intelligently connected to its environment and boasts a host of assistance and information systems, which provide the technical prerequisites for automated driving – software is updated over-the-air, and charging is via Plug & Charge.

Not only has the ID. Buzz been meticulously thought out to offer the maximum use of space, it has also been lovingly designed with great attention to detail. One small example of this are the stylised silhouettes of the ID. Buzz, imprinted in the side trims and seat linings of the five-seater.

As well as the inner values, the exterior design also plays an important role. And there are plenty of other characteristic attributes of the T1 to be found beyond the short overhangs: maximum use of space with a minimal footprint, the division of the chassis design into a lower and an upper level, and the unmistakable front with its V shape between the sharply defined headlamps.

But is that enough to become an icon? An icon is something definitive and universal. If we move away from the world of automobiles for a moment, and take a look at the field of architecture, what often makes a city so recognisable is its skyline. We can identify certain cities by individual buildings, such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré-Cœur in Paris, and Big Ben in London. Be it consumer goods, technical products or architecture, there are also clear parallels with the “Bulli”: the design of these structures is so extraordinary and expressive that they are different to everything else. There isn’t much room for improvement when it comes to their form. However, a number of details can be developed without compromising the basic concept – which is also the key feature of the Volkswagen T1 van throughout the various generations. And is what Volkswagen also requires from the ID. Buzz.

With the ID. Buzz, Volkswagen is championing electromobility, digitalisation, networking, autonomous driving, and new mobility and transport systems. These all come together in the new electric van – the most emotional member of the ID. family so far. Close to the concept study, which caused great excitement around the world, the ID. Buzz is more synonymous with freedom and individuality than any other vehicle. “The ID. Buzz is timeless, sustainable and functional – which is what makes it unique. But we were very intentional, so as not to simply rebuild the T1,” says Jozef Kabaň, Head of Design at Volkswagen.

And so it is that the design of the ID. Buzz reflects the images of a grand history, stretching from the German economic miracle and the flower power movement, to one of the most successful series of vans in Europe: the T1 – an icon from the 50s – is synonymous with the democratisation of mobility and freedom. “With the ID. Buzz, we are transferring the DNA of the T1 to the present day, and thus into the era of electromobility and sustainability,” says Kabaň.

At the same time, with its unique DNA, the world’s first van and transporter in this class to be developed on an all-electric platform is also evolving into the new face of smart, future-oriented, sustainable mobility.