Volkswagen eT! Concept Theorizes a New Way to Haul the Mail

Volkswagen eT! Concept Theorizes a New Way to Haul the Mail:

Unless you lived in Germany in the 1960s or ’70s—where it was omnipresent—or happened to read our coverage of this year’s Concours d’LeMons, chances are you’ve never seen an example of the Volkswagen “Fridolin.” The small commercial vanlet, which was based on the original VW Beetle, was developed with and for the Deutsche Bundespost, the formerly government-run postal service. The Type 147 (its official designation; Fridolin was its colloquial name) was practical, cheap, and virtually indestructible. It was produced from 1964 until 1974, but soldiered on for a few more years until it was replaced in the postal fleet by Golfs and Transporters. Deutsche Post, which was privatized long ago, today relies on an even more diverse array of vehicles, including the Renault Kangoo.

1971 Volkswagen Type 147 Fridolin

VW has once again teamed up with Deutsche Post to develop a new mail van, but this one—the eT! concept—remains a one-off for now. The eT! was styled by the carmaker’s Potsdam design studio with input from the postal service and the Braunschweig University of Art. The list of desired traits for the delivery vehicle: compact size, pure-electric motivation, and the ability to drive semi-autonomously, with the latter two being “based on technologies available today,” says Jürgen Leohold, VW’s research guru.

To that end, the eT! boasts in-hub electric motors, and it will indeed follow voice commands to move itself. If the driver steps out of the vehicle, he can utter simple phrases to get the eT! to return to him or even follow alongside—like, say, on a mail route, where he’s walking up the street. The van can also be driven from the passenger side. All of this is an extension of current technology, including some that, for example, allows some modern cars to self-park flawlessly. We saw similar applications of the tech from supplier Valeo at this year’s Frankfurt auto show, and it’s not surprising that it’s already being showcased by a major automaker.

One of the best aspects of the eT!, of course, is its styling. It has a contemporary, angular look with a few soft edges, innovative lighting, and a basic but extremely clean interior. The eT!’s styling philosophy fits somewhere between VW’s Space Up! and Bulli concepts, and this van provides more insight into the ideas floating around at the firm’s design studios. We like the eT!, and we’d be happy to take it for a spin—both using the steering wheel and our voices.

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