Volkswagen showed a Dune Beetle Concept today at the North American International Auto Show, which is interesting for two reasons: 1) concept cars are usually completely unlike any of a brand’s existing models, and 2) Volkswagen released a Dune Concept Beetle 13 years ago.
However, while the iteration 13 years ago had a toyish look in line with the Beetle of its day, this year’s Dune concept departs from the production look, not tremendously so, but certainly more in line with an off-road vehicle should look like.
A beetle, lest we forget, is an insect that burrows into dirt and mud. It makes sense that the concept version of the Beetle would look a bit more rough-and-tumble than its street counterpart. Thus the Dune Concept is taller, wider and longer than the production model. It’s turbocharged 4-cylinder engine gives it the grit to go off the road and get dirty, just like the original Beetle was capable of doing.
Of course, drivers of that original Beetle could never have anticipated the 7-inch infotainment screen that guides today’s users to their adventure of choice. But we call that progress. You can check out more images of the new Volkswagen Dune Beetle Concept at Auto Blog.