Sunny afternoon? These aftermarket solar panels will increase the range of your ID. Buzz

Regular readers of this website probably know ABT best for its performance enhancement work to fast Audis, but what you might not know is that it is also big into e-mobility, and its most recent project is this - a Volkswagen ID. Buzz with solar roof panels.

Yep, the German tuner’s latest build harnesses the power of the sun to increase EV range. It claims that the panels can generate a peak of up to 600W, in theory extending the ID.Buzz’s current max 258-mile range by... some miles. Disappearing off-grid just got that much easier. 

We're told that the solar panels actually function while both stationary and on the move, with up to 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles) per year of extra range reportedly possible, though perhaps not if you live here in Blighty. Still, ABT’s not finished yet, with future modifications to the Buzz’s side panels being considered to increase the output to over 1,000W. Heck, why not go the whole hog and build a whole Buzz from solar panels?

In theory it makes perfect sense though, right? When the sun’s shining and we need to use aircon, the extra power helps to absorb any range depletion issues. When we eventually get a California camper based on the Buzz, it could also be used to power lighting, refrigerators and cookers and suchlike. We reckon it looks the part, too.

Production is planned from the beginning of next year. Keen on the modification, Buzz owners?