… and immediately puts the Tesla Model S in its crosshairs.
Anyone who has, for the last few years, repeated the dogma that Tesla reigns supreme in the electric vehicle space is about to get their arses handed to them. Last week, Jaguar’s newly-launched I-Pace demonstrated its ability to outrun a Tesla Model X P100D. And today, Volkswagen’s displayed its intent to take a nice big whack at the Model S with this, the I.D. Vizzion concept.
The Vizzion is the fourth full-electric Volkswagen concept under the I.D. family of concept cars, which is VW’s way of making up for the wide-reaching (and seemingly never-ending) Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal. However, unlike the Hatch, Buzz, and Crozz before it, the Vizzion is perhaps Volkswagen’s most daring I.D. concept yet, thanks to a distinct feature (or lack of) inside.
But we’ll get to that in a moment.
The Vizzion is no small car: With a wheelbase of over 5.1-metres its about the same length as a standard Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and would be the largest saloon in the Volkswagen range. We’ve taken that as an indicator that VW is aiming to return to the limousine segment, a space it once inhabited with the amazingly well-engineered but ultimately uncelebrated Phaeton.
And while the Phaeton was available with a monstrous naturally-aspirated W12 mill, the Vizzion sees motivation from a 111kWh battery pack (bigger than anything Tesla makes, mind) that sends power to two electric motors (one on either axle) to produce 225kW. That enormous battery means that the Vizzion can, on a full charge, travel up to 665km, while packing a top-speed of 180km/h (though at those speeds, don’t expect the full range, of course).
Inside is where you realise why we said VW’s being daring with the Vizzion. Open up the clamshell doors and you’ll be greeted by a spacious cockpit that’s very efficiently packaged, offering maximum space for four occupants. Further enhancing that sense of space is the total lack of controls: Where previous I.D. cars featured the ability to ‘stow away’ the controls, the Vizzion concept does without them altogether.
The Vizzion is expected to arrive in 2022 “at the latest,” though it will still feature a steering wheel and pedals for manual intervention. However, as and when Volkswagen manages to develop and perfect Level 5 autonomous capability (where a human isn’t required to intervene at all), the steering wheel and pedals will be phased out.
If the 2022 arrival date is cemented, that would mean the Vizzion would be preceded first by the I.D. Hatch, followed by the I.D. Crozz crossover (due 2019 and 2020 respectively), and then the I.D. Buzz ‘Microbus’ by 2021. When it does arrive though the Vizzion will hardly be alone in the segment: Aside from the Tesla Model S, Jaguar also intends to realign its XJ flagship into that territory. And let’s not forget the mushrooming Chinese electric carmakers that all want a piece of that pie.
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