VW California 6.1 teaser previews an even techier way to live the van life
As if we needed any more reason to lust after this piece of verboten fruit.
Last year, we got a taste of the forbidden-fruit life by camping (glamping, really) in Volkswagen's California T6 to help celebrate the van's 30th birthday. Since then, we've been hooked on the California, and to make us even more jealous now, Volkswagen is teasing a revised version that will land in multiple markets, but not our own.
Volkswagen this week put out two teaser sketches for the upcoming VW California 6.1. The most notable change is a radically revised front end, extending the grille lower to give the car a slightly newer character, while slimming the headlights and connecting them to a clever piece of trim extending to the front fender. The rest of what we can see is just as slab-sided as the California that preceded it -- it is a van, after all. The two-tone paint in the sketch is a nice touch, too.
The interior sketch looks pretty slick, as well, with enough space for a sink and stove combination on one side, and a large bench seat and fold-out table on the other. The most realistic part of this sketch is a cluster of partially shelled walnuts on top of said table. It probably doesn't mean anything; they just look out of place. Is it for scale?
Does someone at VW really like walnuts, or...?
As in most other new Volkswagens, there'll be plenty of tech in the California 6.1. The automaker didn't offer any teasers showing tech, but it did promise a digital gauge cluster, online infotainment connectivity and redesigned controls for the camper unit in the roof. It'll also pack new electromechanical power steering, as well as a few safety systems, including lane-keep assist and crosswind compensation. Under the hood, expect a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel I4 that can make up to 196 horsepower.
Here's hoping that Volkswagen also updates the Grand California, the big-boy variant of its camper van that is basically a complete motor home built from a tall-roof cargo van. That one has its own bathroom, which is bound to make glamping a little more glam.
