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Volkswagen E-Co-Motion Concept brings electric mobility to the commercial set

Volkswagen sees a future where the bulk of the world's freight is moved into city centers by train, then offloaded onto a fleet of smaller, light-duty commercial vehicles for final delivery. Those vehicles could wind up looking something like the company's E-Co-Motion Concept that debuted at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The EV features a modular underfloor drive unit comprised of a battery, motor and gearbox that can be paired with any number of cab and body configurations to suit a buyer's needs, from a refrigerated box to a standard flat bed.
The E-Co-Motion Concept features a rear-mounted electric motor with 113 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque. A standard 20 kWh battery pack provides a driving range of up to 62 miles, while 30 kWh and 40 kWh packs could deliver 93 and 124 miles of travel, respectively. Check out the press release below for more information.

Take a listen to the Volkswagen ID 3 and Koenigsegg Jesko

What could better demonstrate our diametric vehicular future than sound clips of the Volkswagen ID 3 and the Koenigsegg Jesko? Battery-electric vehicles don't make enough noise on their own, so VW partnered with composer Leslie Mandoki for the legally-mandated Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) that warns pedestrians and cyclists of the EV's presence. Mandoki — a German-Hungarian who once played drums in a Euro disco band called Dschinghis Khan — was asked to come up with a sound for the ID 3 that VW said "defines its identity," "radiates safety and the promise of effortless mobility," and that "must also impress with its unique character." The definition of the ID 3's single-motor, 201-horsepower character is this: Occupants and people around the hatch can hear the sound as the car accelerates to 18.6 mph, and when reversing. At higher speeds, the sound of wind resistance and tire noise takes over. As our library of AVAS tones grows, it's clear that EVs will provide a soundscape as varied as that of internal combustion engines. Here, for instance, is the industrial thrum used as the Karma Revero GT's pedestrian warning: And here is the sci-fi soaring from the BMW Vision M Next, as composed by Hans Zimmer: At the other end of the aural chamber, we have the Koenigsegg Jesko. In this case, the composer is a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 running on a bio-ethanol E85 blend that's almost suitable for IndyCar, powering the engine up to 1,600 horsepower. Output on pump gas will be 'only' 1,281 hp. The Swedish automaker released a clip of the exhaust note of a car in progress inside the Angelhom factory. Here's what we can look forward to: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. All these sounds have a place at the table, even if we'd prefer Karma booked some time with a producer and an Autotune session. To paraphrase Sesame Street, though, one of these sounds is definitely not like the other.

Volkswagen scores dominant 1-2-3 finish at Monte Carlo Rally

Racing calendars change from year to year, but most series have that one race they just couldn't do without: the Monaco Grand Prix for F1, Le Mans for endurance racing, Dakar for rally raid, the Indianapolis 500 for Indy, the Daytona 500 for NASCAR... and for the World Rally Championship, it's the Monte Carlo Rally. Winning the Monte brings with it its own measure of bragging rights, but locking out the podium is another story altogether. And that's just what Volkswagen did this weekend on the Cote d'Azur. The hard-fought season-opener saw nine-time world champion (and seven-time Monte Carlo Rally winner) Sebastien Loeb return with Citroen, but ultimately it was the VW team that won – and won big, taking a commanding 1-2-3 finish. Sebastien Ogier (with Julien Ingrassia) finished first, followed by Jari-Matti Latvala (with Miika Anttila) in second and Andreas Mikkelsen (with Ola Floene) in third, all of them in the Volkswagen Polo R WRC that was just updated in time for the start of the season. The rally passed right through the Forest Saint Julien where Ogier was born, and at the end of it all, Mikkelsen walked little more than 50 steps from the Volkswagen garage to his condo at Quai Antoine 1er in Monte Carlo. It was only the second time VW has locked out the podium since hitting the scene two years ago, following the German team's 1-2-3 finish in Australia last season en route to its second consecutive world championship. This also marked the second year in a row that Ogier and VW have won the Monte, after narrowly losing out to Loeb in '03. The achievement in Monaco this weekend made VW only the fifth manufacturer to take the top three spots in the Monegasque capital: Renault-Alpine became the first in 1973, followed by Lancia (with the Stratos) in '76 and then again (with the Delta Integrale) in '89, Audi sandwiched between in '84 and Citroen with the "dream team" of Loeb, Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz in 2003. (Peugeot achieved the same in 2009, but that was when the Monte Carlo Rally had left the WRC and was run as part of the less prominent and lower-spec Intercontinental Rally Challenge.) Not even Subaru, Mitsubishi, Toyota or Ford - all dominant forces in their time - can claim that feat. The victory secures the Polo R WRC's place as the most dominant car in the championship, winning over 85 percent of the rallies in which it has been entered since its debut in 2003. FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Rally Monte Carlo One-two-three!