Volkswagen's new conceptual electric taxi for London mixes cutting edge technology with deliberately tongue-in-cheek details such as the silver Union Jack on the roof and the City of London’s coat of arms on the sides and dashboard

大众(Volkswagen)为伦敦推出的新概念电动出租车将尖端技术与刻意开玩笑的细节结合在一起，比如屋顶上的银联杰克(银联杰克)，以及伦敦金融城(City Of London)两侧的臂章和仪表板。这些修饰掩盖了严肃的意图；全球出租车市场正在蓬勃发展，但由于许多老化的车型早已过了退休年龄而受到阻碍。“对我来说，伦敦拥有世界上最有说服力的出租车，”大众设计主管克劳斯·比肖夫(Klaus Bischoff)承认，他也是该项目的幕后主力军。纽约的出租车不错，但不像伦敦的出租车那么舒适。它赋予了城市环境独特的特征，我们想要对此表示敬意。该原型是基于即将推出的电动城市汽车。它相对紧凑-长3，730毫米，宽1，680毫米，高1，600毫米-使它比大众最小的汽车福克斯略短一些。然而，由于前面没有传统的发动机和巧妙的包装，使得宽敞的内部空间可以让司机和两名乘客坐在单独的座位上-而不是通常的长椅-舒适，同时在机舱区域内为行李留出足够的空间。这个出租车项目是这家汽车制造商持续痴迷于开发具有个性的电动汽车的一部分。由于全电驱动的车型离生产还有一年多的时间，因此有必要在这样的风险投资下，为一个相当愤世嫉俗的市场做好准备。随着出租车，大众希望利用汽车的“脸”，以创造一个独特的印象。为此，Bischoff和他的团队回顾了该品牌最具标志性的汽车：最初的甲壳虫，尤其是Campervan。Bischoff解释说，人们对这些汽车记忆犹新，指出这种怀旧感需要进入整个电动汽车系列。这位设计师继续说：“大众出生的时候，他们的引擎就在后部，所以脸上没有散热器格栅。”一辆电动汽车不需要在前面有一个开口-没有传统的发动机来冷却。因此，就像上，出租车概念的脸有一个小小的环形格栅，有真正的代表嘴，在某种意义上完整的脸。比肖夫说：“我们想给这辆车一个独特的外观，但它是友好和富有同情心的。”安装在前照灯内的日间行车灯与车顶上的出租车灯连接在一起，免费时提供绿色设置，而非红色设置时提供绿色设置。在后方，图形光单元是集成的。

The prototype is based on the forthcoming electric Up city car.

It is relatively compact – 3,730mm long, 1,680mm wide and 1,600mm high – making it a little shorter than VW’s smallest car, the Fox. However, the absence of a conventional engine at the front and clever packaging has allowed for a spacious interior

For me London has the most convincing taxi in the world,’ confesses Klaus Bischoff, head of VW design and the force behind the project. ‘The New York taxi is nice, but not as comfortable as the London cab. It gives the urban setting a unique character, and we wanted to pay tribute to this.’  

Daytime running lights mounted within the headlight units are joined by a taxi light on the roof that offers a green setting when free and red one when not. At the rear the graphic light units are integrated into the split tailgate, behind which are a pair of cubbies to house the driver’s belongings.

‘VWs were born with their engines in the rear and so there was an absence of a radiator grille on the face,’ continues the designer. An electric car doesn’t require an opening at the front – there is no conventional engine to cool. Therefore like the Up, the taxi concept’s face has a tiny ring shaped grille, there really to represents the mouth and in a sense complete the face. ‘We wanted to give the car a unique look, but one that is friendly and sympathetic,’ notes Bischoff.

It takes just over an hour to charge the electric taxi’s slim lithium-ion battery to 80per cent of its capacity. The 113bhp electric motor gives a top speed of 74mph, and the 45kWh battery provides a range of up to 186 miles.

The interior can sit a driver and two passengers in individual seats – as opposed to the usual bench - comfortably, whilst leaving ample space for luggage secured inside the cabin area.

The London taxi concept is the last in VW’s World Taxis series that has thus far included a Hong Kong, Berlin and Milanese cab. The idea with these has been not only to provide a clean driving solution, but also a more modern and a safer taxi environment.