Body structure

To keep the EcoRacer as lightweight as possible, Volkswagen team a carbon-fibre bodywork (CFP = carbon-fibre reinforced plastic) that is both light and stiff.

Structurally, it is a CFP polycoque (the safety structure embraces room for two persons) with a fixed roll bar, CFP crash elements and a CFP skin.

The main parts of the polycoque are a chassis pan, two side members and the dashboard. The crash elements in the front area are the CFP crash absorber and an aluminium bumper cross-member.
A further CFP module carries the engine and rear axle. The engine being mounted in front of the rear axle, there are boots at front and rear.

The smooth vehicle floor with integrated diffuser, the boot lids, doors and roof elements are also made of CFP.

The door locks of the EcoRacer are electromechanical: when the door is opened, the associated roof section is swung upwards on a gas-pressure damper, so as to optimise the entry and exit.

These roof sections and the so-called T-bar, the longitudinal web between them, can be removed completely and stowed behind the seats.

Design: roadster and speedster...

The EcoRacer is 3.77 metres long, 1.74 metres wide, and only 1.21 meters high. The wheelbase is 2.48 metres and the front and rear overhangs are extremely short.

The design is characterized by an unseen front end that could represent a design standard for the future sporty models by VW. The body sides feature the typical air intakes of a central-engined sports car and strong wheel arches above the 17 inches wheels.

The entire roof structure including the windows can be removed or converted. This can be done in stages. The rear hatch, the coupe rear end, is removed. Without the hatch and the roof, the coupé now emerges as a roadster.

In the final stage, the roadster can be converted to a speedster.

For this, a special catch in the area of the A column is released, to allow the windscreen with frame and the upper dashboard housing to be taken off. In place of this module, a minimalistic windscreen with its own cockpit cover is inserted.

The result is a speedster in its purest form, that can be driven without a helmet, since the roll bar has been designed so that the driver's head is protected even without a windscreen frame, should the car roll over.

Furthermore, the aerodynamics guide the slipstream over the heads of the driver and passenger.

Interior

From a lightweight sports car one would expect a minimalistic interior with basic functions: on the opposite, the EcoRacer offers a great number of options to tailor the car to the driver.

The heart of the cockpit is the multifunction TFT display, that could soon be implemented in series models.

EcoRacer offers 2 driving presets: “Normal Mode” and “Racing Mode”, that can be selected with a switch in the gear lever.

In “Racing Mode”, the characteristics of the electro-mechanical power-assisted steering (EPS) is varied towards more direct steering, and the engine-gearbox characteristics are altered in parallel for an even more sporting set-up.

A further highlight is “Fingerprint”, an authorisation system with which the EcoRacer can recall different settings for different drivers. The settings include electronic power limitation, reduced top speed, ESP mode, etc.

There is also an integrated storage compartment with an interface for an Apple iPod (title display and menu control via the central display).