Can't see the wood for the trees?

It's common for vehicle manufacturers to use various modes of camouflage on vehicles in the final stages of development when they are being road tested. It makes it difficult for the media to identify the exact make and model of the vehicle, but mainly helps prevent rival manufacturers from copying any design language or features that may be unique to the new arrival.

However, this time it's Volkswagen itself that has released images of its 'woodlands' camouflaged, all-electric ID.7 estate, which the company says will go by the name ID.7 Tourer1. With the launch of the new model due in Europe in 2024 it means either VW is trying to drum up bit of hype for the estate or possibly that other manufacturers have already figured out their future plans and they intend to pip them to the post.

 

Nonetheless, VW says this model is highly efficient "thanks to sophisticated aerodynamics" and has a drag co-efficient value of 0.234. In simple terms, that's a measure of how little (or how much) resistance to airflow the body shape displays while travelling. With the majority of vehicles on the roads around the world having an average drag co-efficient of 0.35 (or about 0.45 for SUVs), that should make for a very energy-efficient design.

 

VW has offered up little in the way of specifications, but has said that with five people on board, a maximum boot space of 545 litres is available. With rear seats folded, that increases to 1,714 litres. Power from the electric drive to the wheels is 210kW, while predicted power consumption (in kWh per 100km) is 16.3 to 14.1.

(Words: Newspress and Philip Devine | Pics: Newspress)