Ars takes a closer look at the Volkswagen ID Buzz electric truck

On Wednesday, Volkswagen used the South by Southwest Festival to officially unveil the ID Buzz, the company’s upcoming electric truck. In the lead up to that debut in Texas, VW gave Ars a watch with the white and gold show car to get a poke around.

you may You have read our writing On the car already, but we thought the video might be a better way to show some of the weird details of this new electric vehicle that’s causing a lot of hype. (I’m not sorry.)

The ID Buzz you see in the video is actually a European-spec vehicle, which means it has a standard wheelbase of 117.6 inches (2988 mm) and a seating capacity of five. Europe also gets ID Buzz Cargo, which forgoes the second row of seats entirely.

Mechanically, ID Buzz uses the same MEB platform (E-Antriebs-Baukasten Variants or a standard electrification kit) such as ID.4 Cross. So the powertrain specs are identical — a 201 hp (150 kW) engine driving the rear wheels and an 82 kWh lithium-ion battery pack (gross, 77 kWh) between the axles.

However, the US will have to wait until 2024 for our first hooks, which will boast greater length between the axles and a third row of seats. We think the US will also see an all-wheel drive option, and it is possible that there will be other battery pack sizes.

But with two years to go, it’s too soon to know the cost, or even the scope of the EPA.