The new Volkswagen Transporter has an electric version

Transporter, Caravelle, California, Multivan… by whichever name you best know Volkswagen’s quite iconic lines of vans, buses and campers, there’s a new version, and this is it.

Dubbed the T6.1, you’d be forgiven for thinking it represents a relatively small update over the existing T6. Indeed, there’s the usual light sprinkling of newness via a bolder grille, new driver assistance systems (including self-parking, trailer assist and a stabilisation system for crosswinds) and much connectivity, highlights being digital dials and wireless smartphone link-up.

But there’s bigger news. Alongside a bunch of 2.0 TDI diesels (topping out at 196bhp) there’s now a fully electric version, developed with the help of tuning and motorsport specialists ABT and possessing 110bhp. With the option of a humongous 77.6kWh battery, it can travel almost 300 miles on a charge. Though we suspect that’ll fall depending on how you drive it and how heavily you load it…

We also suspect the electric version might have a less aggressive grille – perhaps no grille at all – and we’ll see it closer to the T6.1’s on-sale date in autumn.