Forget Nio, Volkswagen Was Swapping EV Batteries Before Your Grandad Was Born
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating with the grandad thing, but guess what? Volkswagen, those classic hippy-hauler makers, were dabbling in electric vans way back in the 1970s. Yep, before Elon Musk was even a glint in his daddy's eye. I'm talking about the T2 Elektro Bus, a Frankenstein of a van that not only ran on batteries but – get this – swapped them out like AA's in an old Walkman.
Close your eyes for a moment and picture this: the groovy '70s, bellbottoms, feathered hair, and here's VW with their iconic T2 van, the beloved ride of surfers and free spirits. But forget that gas-guzzling engine – these German geniuses decided to rip it out and cram a massive 2,000-pound battery pack under the floor, along with an electric motor. I gotta admit, those old-school VW engineers had guts.
Of course, this being the '70s, EV tech wasn't quite what it is today. Forget those Tesla-beating acceleration times. This Elektro Bus could hit a blistering top speed of about 46 mph (75 kph). That's about as fast as a sprinter... who enjoys leisurely jogs. And if you floored it? Let's just say a snail could make a competitive drag race of it. Zero to 31 mph (0-50 kph) happened in a breathtaking 12.5 seconds. This thing made those classic VW Beetles look like muscle cars!
But hey, at least it was quiet, right? No chugging engine noises, just the faint whine of an overworked electric motor and the creaks and groans of that poor T2 chassis. However, if you were after short city hops, it wasn't all bad. VW reckoned these electric beasts could squeak out roughly 30 to 60 miles (50-100 km) before running out of juice. Which, let's be real, would barely get you to the next surf spot and back.
Now, here's where it gets cool – or should I say, hilariously impractical. Remember swapping out those batteries in your old Gameboy? Volkswagen basically thought, "Why not do that with a van?" Behold, the glorious 5-minute battery swap! Picture a specialized conveyor belt system, some frantic mechanics, and voila, a whole new battery slid into place. Sounds easy, right? Assuming you had a giant garage lined with charged-up, two-thousand-pound batteries just hanging around... not so practical after all.
All jokes aside, VW was onto something – they even had a primitive 'regenerative braking' system that captured a bit of energy. But alas, battery tech in the '70s wasn't ready for primetime. Fast forward to today, and Volkswagen's ID. Buzz (the cooler, retro-looking descendant of the T2) shows just how far electric vans have come. Nio has practically built its brand around the 5-minute battery swap, making sure the owners of its swanky EVs do not have to wait in a long queue, and then fight with those pesky charging cables.
So, while you might see those fancy Teslas zooming past, and if you’re lucky enough you might spot a Nio swapping its battery in a fancy swap station, remember this little piece of automotive history. Before there was battery-swapping hype and hyper-modern EV vans, there was Volkswagen's brave and clunky experiment, the T2 Elektro Bus. You gotta tip your hat to those bold innovators.
Yours truly,
Captain Electro
