Volkswagen has teamed up with Apple to develop this, the new VW iBeetle, one of the first cars in the world to offer full iPhone 5 integration.
The new iBeetle is available in both hard-top and cabriolet form and comes with a newly-designed dashboard-mounted dock. All the user has to do is snap their iPhone into the dock and all of the phone's main functions -- such as sat-nav, music and hands-free calls -- can be accessed through the car's infotainment system.
Volkswagen has also developing an 'app' for the iPhone, which when it is released will allow the driver to use the phone's data connection to listen to Spotify and connect to their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
VW also claims that the design of the iBeetle is 'stylistically-linked' to the design of Apple's products, featuring grey 18-inch alloys with chrome wheel covers, grey door mirrors and grey side trim panels. Buyers will have a choice of six exterior colours, including Candy White, Oryx White Mother of Pearl Effect, Black Monochrome, Deep Black Pearl Effect, Platinum Grey and Reflex Silver.
Now, I'm not exactly what you'd call a technophile (my phone, for example, would have cost less than £10 had I bought it new, which I didn't), but I can spot one or two problems with the iBeetle.
The first is that the car only really makes any sense if you own an iPhone 5 and, despite the near-ubiquity of those incredibly pretentious TV adverts, most people don't.
The other issue is that Apple seems to release a new iPhone about once every seventeen minutes, but the iBeetle won't go on sale until next year. Does that mean that the iBeetle, with its clever iPhone dock, could be nearing obsolescence before it ever makes it off the dealer forecourt?
Let us know what you think about the iBeetle by commenting below.
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