VW Up!

Meet the VW Up! The up! scheduled to make its debut in dealerships in 2010, and will compete with an emerging army of chic, eco-friendly small cars such as the Fiat 500. The up! was displayed as concept at last Frankfurt Motor Show. It has a super-compact, rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive powertrain, and promises to be incredibly environmentally friendly, with low CO2 emissions. The final version will maintain all the cheekiness and stand-out style of the concept. At the front, the VW up! gets headlights inspired by the Golf, as well as a reprofiled bumper with redesigned air intakes and integrated indicators. VW Up! will get petrol or diesel guises, and have a capacity of around 600cc. Both units are likely to be turbocharged, and VW is targeting CO2 emissions of less than 100g/km and combined fuel economy of 94mpg. A 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol motor is under consideration, too. The up! will be the first version to go on sale, however, with a basic car designed for emerging markets such as China, India and Russia costing from as little as $8,000. A more luxurious variant for European buyers will get goodies such as climate control, and carry a price tag of around $15,000. The final, production-ready VW up! is expected to make its world debut at a major motor show next year.