The Volkswagen California is the camper variant of the brand's highly adaptable Transporter van, and these new teaser images are the first look at an upcoming 6.1 update. The full debut happens at the Caravan-Salon show in Düsseldorf, Germany, at the end of August.
Gallery: Volkswagen Transporter California 6.1 teaser
The California 6.1 gains an optional digital instrument panel, marking the first time for this tech to be available on this model. The multifunctional camper control unit also now has a digital display. An updated infotainment system features an integrated eSIM that allows for connecting to online services. The driver assistance tech gets a major update, too, with features like lane assist, side-wind compensation, and trailer assist.
There are plenty of ways to customise a Transporter:
The California 6.1 will be available with multiple tunes of VW's 2.0-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder, and the top trim will offer 196 bhp. Electro-mechanical power steering will replace the previous hydraulically assisted system.
On the outside, the updated California will get the fresh nose from the Transporter 6.1. The revised design includes slightly sharper styling and LED headlights. The rest of the styling retains the van's familiar look.
Like with the pre-refresh model, Americans have to look away from the California 6.1, despite carrying the name of one of the country's most populous states. Folks in the U.S. wanting a van from VW need to wait for the production I.D. Buzz to arrive in 2022.
VW touts the California as the world's bestselling camper van model thanks to deliveries of over 18,000 units per year. In 2018, the company celebrated producing the 100,000th unit at the Hannover-Limmer factory. Production of the whole family of Transporter variants has totalled roughly 12 million units since the van's introduction in 1950.
UPDATE FOR THE ICONIC CAMPER VAN: VOLKSWAGEN OFFERS A FIRST LOOK AHEAD AT THE NEW CALIFORNIA 6.1
New and more comfortable: enhanced interior and new display for the camper functions
New and connected: digital cockpit and online infotainment systems with integrated eSIM for the first time
New and sharper: front end with charismatic design transports the DNA of the California to the future
New and safe: side-wind compensation system, “Lane Assist” and Side Protection for extra safety
Hanover, 2 July 2019 - Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has revealed the first sketches and details of the new California 6.1. The update for the campervan covers many aspects: the interior of the camper van has been enhanced; the multifunctional camper control unit in the roof console has been redesigned and digitalised, new assistance systems enhance safety and comfort; a new generation of infotainment with integrated eSIM opens up the world of mobile online services, and digital instruments are available for the first time (“Digital Cockpit”). Striking: the completely redesigned front end of the California 6.1.
More than 18,000 Californias are sold per year (2018)*, making it the number 1 campervan and a true all-rounder, ideal for big trips and daily journeys. Now Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has further refined the top seller: the living and sleeping areas of the camper van have been carefully enhanced and optimised. Furthermore, the driver and front passenger sit in front of a redesigned dashboard including new instruments (analogue or as an option digital for the first time) and new online infotainment systems.
Like the Multivan 6.1 revealed earlier this year, the California 6.1 features electromechanical power steering. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is giving the camper numerous new assistance systems, for example “Lane Assist”, Side Protection and “Trailer Assist”, which makes light work of manoeuvring with a trailer. In addition, a side-wind compensation system makes travelling in the California 6.1 even safer.
The new California T6.1 will be launched with highly efficient 2.0-litre turbodiesel engines1 with output of up to 146 kW /199 PS. The new camper generation will celebrate its world premiere at the end of August at the Caravan-Salon in Düsseldorf.
1) The vehicle has not yet gone on sale.
* UK 2018 sales – 1,235 (SMMT data)
About the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand:
“We transport success.” As a stand-alone brand within the Volkswagen Group, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) is responsible globally for the development, construction and sales of light commercial vehicles, producing the Transporter, Caddy, Crafter and Amarok product lines. In consultation with its customers, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles draws up appropriate vehicle concepts, telematics and logistics solutions for the sparing use of resources at the highest possible level of efficiency. In 2018, the brand sold around 500,000 light commercial vehicles, produced at its sites in Hannover (D), Poznań (PL), Września (PL) and Pacheco (ARG). VWCV employs over 24,000 people globally, thereof approximately 15,000 at the Hannover site.