VW concept car: 1950s looks, 2050s power

A new concept car from Volkswagen may have the looks of an old 1950s Samba Bus (you know, one of those cool hippy camper vans), but under the hood is technology that's straight out of 2050. The Up! Blue is the third and latest design from the company's Up! range of concept cars.

Powering the vehicle is a high temperature fuel cell, which generates electricity from hydrogen and stores it in 12 lithium-ion batteries. These are then used to drive a hefty electric motor which can generate enough torque to drive the vehicle up to 121km/h.

It can be used as a plug-in electric car, getting 105km out of the batteries alone, or as a hydrogen car, which gives 250km from a fill-up. This means that if the car is both charged and filled, using both options should allow you 354 km. The high-temperature fuel cell has been developed by VW themselves, and they claim that it's more efficient, requiring less energy to cool itself and so converts more hydrogen to usable electricity. It's also simpler to construct, so should be considerably cheaper than current models.

As well as this, there are solar panels on the roof, which can constantly trickle-charge the batteries. If you live in rainy Old Blighty, however, this might not add all that much to your range.

Before you get too carried away, though, remember that this is a concept. Sadly you can't buy one yet. But VW are working on it, and they hope to have the cars in dealerships by the end of the decade. Check out CNET NEWS.com for more taster images.