VOLKSWAGEN went back to its roots again when it produced one of the big surprises at the Detroit Motor Show. Stylists at the German company's studio in California revisited a 1950s theme with a Microbus concept.

Complete with a bulbous front and the familiar wheel-at-each-corner design of the original, the US design study concept is the first vehicle to make use of a new platform developed for the Transporter and Caravelle. Powered by a 3.2-litre V6 engine developing 231bhp, the concept has front-wheel drive and a five-speed automatic gearbox. It has three rows of seats and those in the centre row can be swivelled to face either front or rear.