Originally conceived as an electric car in 1993, the New Beetle started as a small-scale model captured with a photo shoot on the sunny beaches of California before being greenlit as an auto-show concept car. At the 1994 Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen unveiled 'Concept One' a nostalgic concept car that paid homage to the original Beetle while offering a modern, front-engine chassis. The car was revealed with a sentimental video asking viewers to 'remember when…,' hearkening to the golden age of the original Beetle.
'The journalists were all tearing up at the video,' said Thomas. 'The overwhelming response from the press was so big that they would not leave the show stand and go to other press conferences, they wanted to see if Volkswagen would actually build the Beetle.'
After immense success at the Detroit Auto Show, Concept One was approved for production and Thomas and his team designed every interior and exterior detail. They took the original Beetle down to its most geometric elements—the three arches— and were inspired by industrial design to mix Bauhaus flavors with warm character design, making the New Beetle stylish and approachable. They wanted to go forward with a design that brought in modernity rather than relying on the shapes and lines of the past.
The original interior of the vehicle reflected its exterior body lines, featuring a simple arched instrument panel with aquamarine-colored dials inspired by glistening swimming pools of California. Thomas designed the famous flower vase in Concept One as a bit of humanity for each vehicle and as a tribute to the porcelain Rosenthal bud vases in the original models.Source - Volkswagen
'The journalists were all tearing up at the video,' said Thomas. 'The overwhelming response from the press was so big that they would not leave the show stand and go to other press conferences, they wanted to see if Volkswagen would actually build the Beetle.'
After immense success at the Detroit Auto Show, Concept One was approved for production and Thomas and his team designed every interior and exterior detail. They took the original Beetle down to its most geometric elements—the three arches— and were inspired by industrial design to mix Bauhaus flavors with warm character design, making the New Beetle stylish and approachable. They wanted to go forward with a design that brought in modernity rather than relying on the shapes and lines of the past.
The original interior of the vehicle reflected its exterior body lines, featuring a simple arched instrument panel with aquamarine-colored dials inspired by glistening swimming pools of California. Thomas designed the famous flower vase in Concept One as a bit of humanity for each vehicle and as a tribute to the porcelain Rosenthal bud vases in the original models.Source - Volkswagen
Volkswagen Monthly Sales Volume
March 2023
67,853
