The Volkswagen Museum’s concepts recall the revolutionary groundwork behind the company’s success

As always, I am saving the best for last. Even if the first article enlisted quite a few memorable vehicles, the most impressive segment is arguably the final corner, holding two dozen unique concept cars.

The first quartet of colourful concepts recalls the wild nineties (even If some of the four stem from later).

For instance, the green one on the left was born in the mid-2000s. The 2006 IROC concept car was penned by Murat Günak and foreshadowed the upcoming Scirocco III (in the end, Walter de Silva finalised it).

The name IROC stems from the middle four letters of the name Scirocco and does not seem to bear any relevance for the International Race of Champions.

The crazy purple one is the Vario II built in 1991 based on the Golf Synchro, to showcase the Vario roof system (which can convert the car into a Cabrio, a pickup or a coupé).

The yellow EcoRacer is a Volkswagen concept car unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. Designed by Cesar Muntada (a Spaniard previously working for Peugeot and Honda).

The EcoRacer is equipped with a revvy 1.5 litre has turbodiesel engine peaking at 136 PS. True to the car’s name, the diesel engine allows to combine best of both worlds.

The EcoRacer accelerates from 0–100 km/h in 6.3 seconds and can reach a top speed of 230 km/h, yet satisfies with an average fuel consumption of 3.4 litres per 100 km. Mr Muntada left a few tricks for the bodywork too: the EcoRacer can be used as coupe, roadster (with no roof) and speedster (both pillar and windscreen removed).

The last one of the design concepts is the 1989 VW Futura. The VW Futura was presented at the 1989 IAA. Its design is true to its name, the four-seater minivan is equipped with two gullwing doors, and the content matches the looks.

In 1989, it was already equipped with functions of the next millennia, like park assist, LCD screen for navigation and noise-cancelling audio system.

The next duo featured familiar faces hiding some crazy tech. The W12 Touareg with triangle snow track was a mule to test new technologies. While the caterpillar project failed, the W12 variant was offered from 2004 onwards.

The next car is not a Bugatti, believe it or not :). The 2009 Lamborghini Chiron 0615 is a Lamborghini with a disclaimer that it may contain traces of Volkswagen. This car is based on a scrapped Lamborghini Diablo modded by six trainees led by a senior engineer. Despite the name, the car deserves its place in the museum, as fenders, bumper, front cover, interior and control panel are replaced with parts and technic coming from VW shelves.

Thus, the vehicle is propelled by a W12 engine, using a 5-speed automatic. Its taillights and electronics come from the Phaeton, steering wheel and drive shafts for the rear-wheel-drive come from the Golf.

The Passat CC donated the LED lights, complemented by countless tailor-made parts to make the contributions fit.

The green Noah MPV is from 1995, and its lines are penned by Volvo’s favourite designer Thomas Ingenlath.

The slim white thing is the 2011 VW Nils, an electric-powered concept designed for commuters.

The next line-up illustrates VW’s quest to pursue efficiency that culminated in the limited series production XL1. The first green(ish) car is the 1991 VW Vario I, based on the Golf I.

The blue one is the 1986 VW Scooter, a streamlined three-wheel prototype with gullwing doors.

The white XL1 is actually not a prototype. Or this one actually is… The XL1 was developed from the 2009 L1 concept, and this specimen is a pre-series car.

The actual XL1 model entered into a small series production from 2014 to 2016 with rather unique sales conditions.

Thanks to its groundbreaking features and astronomical sales prices, it found its way into private collections and museums really swiftly.

There is one in the Abarth Works Museum, and of course, there is one in the Related rides exhibition in Autostadt.

The next one is an XL Sport, that essentially an XL1 that turned to the dark side. The XL Sport is 40 cm longer, 20 cm wider, and with a 20 cm longer wheelbase, it uses the spaceframe frame of the Audi R8.

The mid-engine vehicle is powered by a 1200 cc motorcycle unit with desmodromic valve control from the Ducati 1199 Superleggera.

The next one is the famous 1-litre car from 2002, the dream of legendary automotive titan Ferdinand Piëch, and was used as a project milestone for the XL 1. The two-seater car could brag with an optimal wind resistance (only 0.16 Cw) and weighs only 290 kg.

Thanks to its naturally aspirated PD TDI engine, the car produces an average consumption of 0,89 litres at public demonstrations.

The 1998 VW CC1 has a rounder shape and was a precursor to the Audi A2 and the 3-litre VW Lupo. The one-off futuristic-looking four-seater consumed only 2 litres on 100 km, thanks to its 3.58 metres short chassis that weighs only 440 kg and low drag coefficient of 0.20 Cw.

The grey spaceship-like thing is called Aerodynamic Research Volkswagen (ARVW). This test vehicle is the fastest diesel record car of its time, setting two world and eight class records in Nardo in 1980 with Formula 1 World champ Keke Rosberg behind the wheel.

The 5 metres long monoposto reached 362 km / h thanks to its streamlined aluminium / plastic structure allowing ultralow wind resistance (of Cw 0.15). According to the fact sheet of the vehicle,  the six-cylinder diesel engine stems from the LT truck. A sister model of the ARVW is in the Riga Motormuseum that we covered a few years ago.

All this is faded by the 1982 Volkswagen SMVW (SM stands for Ecomobile), the three-wheeler experimental vehicle, that completed a 1,491-kilometre route on just one litre of diesel in 1982.

This car was also showcased at the last Techno Classica, which, however, dates back to 2019, thanks to the persisting pandemic.

That was all for the VW Museum. I believe the two articles summarised the most exciting cars, although the first article left out a few thrilling classics. For those who have time for an extra round in Wolfsburg, I highly recommend paying a visit to “Das Museum”.

For an overview of the museums covered, check out the interactive map: