Volkswagen Futura

The Volkswagen Futura is a concept vehicle developed by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen.

Volkswagen Futura
VW Futura
Overview
Manufacturer	Volkswagen
Model years	1989
Designer	Integrated Research Volkswagen
Body and chassis
Class	Concept car
Body style	2-door minivan
Doors	Gull-wing doors
Powertrain
Engine	1.7 L (1,715 cc) supercharged I4
Transmission	Automatic transmission
Dimensions
Length	3,780 mm (149 in.)

History

The Volkswagen Futura was presented in 1989 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Design and features

The Futura was intended to be an experimental, yet extremely innovative vehicle, and Volkswagen imagined it as an idea of where the automobile could be 10 to 15 years in the future.^[1] As a result, the Futura incorporated a plethora of features that were unheard of in vehicles from that time period, including an electric parking brake, four-wheel steering, and the implementation of a fully automatic anti-lock system.^[2] It also made use of an on-board computer, and could, according to Volkswagen, position itself in parking spaces without any form of driver input (automatic parking).^[3]

The engine was designed to be as economical as possible, capable of an estimated 39.2 miles per US gallon (6.00 L/100 km; 47.1 mpg_‑imp).^[4] It achieved this through a 1,715 cc straight-four engine, which was, similarly to other Volkswagen models of the era (such as the Polo and Golf) equipped with a G-Lader supercharger, improving fuel efficiency by a large margin. It made 82 PS (81 hp; 102 kW) and 155 newton-metres (114 lbf⋅ft) (60 ft·lb) of torque. The Futura also had no radiator, instead cooling the engine through the use of a newly engineered evaporative cooling system developed for the Futura.^[5]

Exterior-wise, the car resembled a shortened MPV from many angles, although much unlike a traditional minivan, it had 2 seats and gull-wing doors, which were a rather uncommon characteristic across vehicles of all classes during that period.