The new Volkswagen up! city car is such a flexible design that can even spawn a buggy version!

It’s called very simply the Volkswagen Buggy Up! and it’s inspired by the original buggy made by Bruce Meyers in the 60s based on the Beetle. This lifestyle concept is an open-top vehicle with no doors, big wheels, and a high-tech, lightweight steel structure.

Compared to the up!, the ride height was lowered by 20 mm, the bonnet is built much flatter, the bumpers show an independent character, the roof is not just clipped off, rather it takes its idea from small convertible sports cars. It also has a completely new rear-end. The bootlid is constructed of two pieces; the main part of the lid lifts upward like a classic bootlid, but the section above the bumper folds down, like the tailgate on a pick-up.

This is an extremely fun vehicle with not much in the way of common sense. So chances of it getting into production are quite slim. But you can read more about it here anyway:

Safe

The designers also made this up! a purebred buggy in its side profile. Of course, it has no doors, but in their place it has extensive body reinforcements and a sturdy roll bar behind the two seats. Especially cool: the open side sills. This makes the experience of open-air driving even more exciting than in a conventional convertible.

Snappy

At 3,584 mm, the buggy up! is somewhat longer than the production up! with a hard top (+44 mm), and its width of 1,672 mm is somewhat wider (+31 mm). As might be expected, the height of the buggy up! comes in significantly lower at 1,288 mm (-190 mm). The minimalistic overhangs, front and rear, show sharp styling. Filling the wheel housings are 18-inch alloy wheels – enormous for a vehicle of this size – which have 205/40 tyres.

Colourful

The area above the bumper and the open side sills are in the colour “hot orange”, which was specially created for this vehicle; those who think back to the buggies of the 1960s when they hear this colour name are right on track. The bumpers and side sills are designed in a matt and rugged “metallic grey” colour. The same colour schemes dominate in the interior.

Waterproof

As is proper for a beach vehicle, the new interior styling is completely waterproof. Drains in the vehicle floor and the open side sills prevent flooding. Even the neoprene coated shell seats have water drains, so that no water accumulates in the vehicle after a swim in the ocean. If it should rain for a longer period of time, it is possible to stretch a sail between the window frames and the roll bar.

Sound

The controls for the infotainment system also sport a waterproof design. Among its features, the system has an iPod/iPhone dock. The entire module can be removed – including the integrated active loudspeakers – so that it can be used as a sound system for parties on the beach.

Go-kart

Compared to the two-door up! the buggy up! has a lower seat position – in keeping with the lower vehicle height. The specially designed seats were lowered by 58 mm compared to the production model. To ensure that everything makes ergonomic sense for the driver, engineers reduced the basic angle of the height-adjustable steering wheel by 4 degrees to an angle of 21 degrees. The result is a go-kart feeling. A sturdy handle is installed on the dash panel for the front passenger – just as it once was in the Beetle – because one never knows what lies over the next dune. In essence, the buggy up! is pure emotion, but it is easy to drive and very safe. A car that would not only be good to drive in California. One thing should be made up!solutely clear at this point: the New Small Family is just beginning to grow…