Volkswagen Aero B Electric Sedan Spied Up Close On The Street

What does this Volkswagen Aero B EV prototype have in common with NASCAR? Identifying features such as grilles and lights on NASCAR racers are merely vinyl stickers on a generic body. It could be argued that this prototype's body is rather generic, but the plethora of vinyl stickers trying to fool onlookers into thinking this is a Passat could be the reason for that.

This isn't the first time we've seen the Aero B. In fact, we saw this exact vehicle nearly a month ago, wearing the same number plate and fitted with the same camouflage. What camouflage you ask? The grille that is so prominent on this car is completely fake. There isn't tape covering the grille, the tape is the grille, and the camouflage continues around the headlights which are only partially real. In truth, we suspect the lights are slimmer, connected by an LED strip similar to the ID.4.

More trickery takes place up front at the side intakes, which do exist but are just small vertical vents instead of the trapezoid shapes we see. The lower intake, however, is real – electric cars need some fresh air. They certainly don't need dual exhaust tips as seen on the rear of this prototype. That's another sticker, and a good chunk of the taillights are stickers, too. These spy shots give us a very close look at the car, and as such, we can also see body-colored stickers over most of the rear fascia. Volkswagen is actually doing a very good job of disguising this new EV.

Underneath it should ride on VW's MEB platform. We hear it won't be front-wheel drive, but rather, will turn the rear wheels in a single-motor format with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive model also available. At this early stage we don't have any gossip about power or range, nor can we be certain of its name. Aero B sounds interesting, but an ID moniker could certainly grace the production version.

VW is in the early stages of testing, with this being only our second sighting. A full reveal may not happen until 2023, though it could break cover at the end of 2022.