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VW Stole My Bubble Car!
A builder is going up the wall because he claims Volkswagen stole his idea for an aerodynamic eco-friendly car. Eggert Bülk says his one-fifth scale model has been taken by VW and turned into the 1-Litre car, which the company's former boss Ferdinand Piëch famously drove to his retirement party. Mr Bülk, who normally designs and builds garages, has long harboured a desire to create a fast and environmentally friendly means of transport, and in 1959 he created an electric-powered bicycle capable of 73mph. The 'Four-Seater Funmobile' was designed for a 1996 competition run by Audi - part of the VW Group - to find the best amateur car designer. "I sent off two pages of photocopied blueprints, plus my model," said Bülk, 62, from Hamburg. "I waited for weeks, then had the model returned with a letter saying the judges had assessed it and I had to wait to see if I'd won. But that was all I heard, and my plans weren't returned." He thought nothing of it until February this year, when he spotted a picture of Piëch next to the 1-Litre in a newspaper. "I thought 'there's my car'," he said. "I was mildly annoyed at first, but now I think it's funny that a company such as VW would turn the plans of an ageing builder into a real car. It's flattering."
While Bülk's design differs in some areas from the VW concept, the two vehicles do bear a striking visual resemblance and, at 3.8 metres, are the same length. But the Funmobile is capable of seating four passengers all in a line with their legs splayed out to the side to aid legroom and balance. While VW claims the 1-Litre is all its own work, Bülk is adamant it uses his styling cues. "I've always wanted to create a cult car," he said. "Now, I suppose I have done!" |
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