3 Cylinders FTW!

[Canadian Turbo]

Back in February, German publication Auto Bild reported Volkswagen was working on a new low-cost rear-engine car to be sold in Europe and America. Details were scarce at the time, but now we have better idea of what to expect.

According to well-placed Volkswagen sources, the car will have a 130-inch wheelbase and $10,000 to $14,000 price tag, reports Automobile magazine. It won't feature power steering, but ABS, a sunroof, and even a navigation system will be offered.

Expect power to come from a three-cylinder engine in the U.S. version, and two or even one-cylinder motors abroad, the report said.

The new model will be something of a spiritual revival of the original Beetle, which had its engine in the back. Currently, the only other modern cars with a rear engine are the Porsche 911 and Smart ForTwo.

The project is the brainchild of Ferdinand Piëch — grandson of Beetle designer Ferdinand Porsche and nephew of Porsche AG founder Ferry Porsche. Piëch — who was once chairman of VW — reportedly convinced now-CEO Martin Winterkorn to proceed with the project.

While there are some obvious concerns with a rear-engine layout, VW sources told Automobile a sophisticated stability control system will make the vehicle easy and safe to drive.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

A possible look for the new car

[Mitcheh]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

That's DOPE

[liquid]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

I like it....

[N'Syncro]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

Awesome.

Finally automakers are realizing that ppl want smaller and not bigger.

[Smarty39]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

I think it would sell really well in NA...which means we probably won't get it lol!

[tex_the_t_rex]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

That looks wicked. I hope that there's a chance this makes it to our shore...

[Mr. Burns]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

Ill likely grab one of those if they make it here. Very nice.

[94gti]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

There is no way that that car would be as sucessful as the beetle was. Its a neat concept, but I doubt it would catch on in NA.

[edicius]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

Theres an article about it in the new automobile.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

Latest info

Volkswagen has announced that they intend to premiere a small city car with a rear engine at this fall's auto show in Frankfurt, Germany. VW says that the car, to be called City Expert, will "beat where the flat-four "Boxer" engine once did in the Beetle," according to a press release.

VW didn't release any additional information on the vehicle other than that the future small car will be presented in prototype form, most likely a thinly disguised concept car.

The vehicle's details are up for speculation at this point and we'll be sure to provide any details as they become available. The centerpiece at Frankfurt is expected to be the upcoming Tiguan small SUV, as well as six different BlueMotion diesel models showcasing VW's new clean diesel technology.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

More details

Details are flowing in on the upcoming Volkswagen City Expert mini car that will be premiered at this fall's Frankfurt show. Although VW hasn't shown any teaser images - and we're not expecting any - we do now know that the car is designed primarily for emerging markets, but will likely show up in Western Europe, as well.

The City Expert is being compared to the original Beetle in that it's expected to provide mobility for a wide range of markets. Three body styles are expected, each aimed at a different market. Europe will get a two-door hatchback, China a four-door sedan and India a five-door hatch. Other similar, smaller markets will each get at least one iteration. The VW will be rear-engined and powered by no larger than a three-cylinder motor. Some markets will get two cylinders, which will lower the price by at least $1,200 U.S. A one-cylinder is under consideration.

Power steering likely won't be part of the picture in order to keep costs down and due to the vehicle's low weight. The air conditioning unit, radiator and battery will be located in the front. The vehicle is expected to include two cargo areas: up front and in the back, despite the rear-mounted engine.

North American sales are questionable; sales figures of the Smart Fortwo in the U.S. will likely be a deciding factor. Central and South American sales are expected.

VW expects to be able to make the City Expert in less than 12 hours, an industry-leading time thanks to the vehicle's simplicity.

[Duby T]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

Im sold

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

Volkswagen's up! concept is its modern interpretation of the city car. Overseen by Walter de Silva, the up! is designed to be the upcoming replacement for the Volkswagen Fox compact. At 11.3' long and only a shade over five feet wide, up! is smaller than even Volkswagen's Lupo minicar that went out of production in 2005.

Outside, up! mimics the styling seen on the GTI W12-650 show car, with prominent and squared-off lower valences that Volkswagen says are designed to give the car a "happy face."

Very little is being said about the drivetrain of up! other than it's rear-engined and lacks a front radiator grille, but knowing Volkswagen something else will leak out once the car gets its official official unveiling at the show tomorrow.

Volkswagen Reinvents the Volkswagen
World premiere: Volkswagen up! concept car with rear engine Multivariable: City specialist offers more space, more variability and more fun Wolfsburg, September 2007. There are cars that endure for all times. Theyare icons of theirtype, masterpieces of craftsmanship and technology; they put ideas into motion, make progress tangible and sometimes quite simply make everyday life better, more practical and enjoyable. Many of these cars carry the VWlogo. "Bug, Beetle, New Beetle", "T1, Bulli, Samba bus, California", "Golf, GTI". Now Volkswagen is presenting - as a world premiere at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt - a concept car that once again has the right stuff needed to move more than just one generation. It is a small, pure and high-spirited Volkswagen that pays tribute to its environment. The overall concept is marked by an innovative, clear, intuitive functionality. The name of the concept car: up! - a positive name that is a synonym for departure, activity, dynamics and the future. "For Volkswagen", says Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Board Member with Responsibility for Technical Development, "the response of IAAvisitors will be a decisive test to determine whetherthe concept has the same kind of potential possessed bythe Beetle at one time orbythe Golf today."

Concept

The up! is a cityspecialist, a carforfourpersons and all languages, forthe job, the university, the drive to the beach and the excursion outside the city gates. Asmall carthat shows a lot of size, because it offers more space than any other car of similar length (3.45 meters) and width (1.63 meters). Its engine - conceivable here are all facets of technology that can be sensibly applied - will run in the rear. And that changes everything: Space, mood and design. Walter de Silva, Chief Designer of the Volkswagen group, sums it up like this: "The up! is not a carwhose form will become obsolete within a very brief period of time. It shines in its cleverness and yet is made with loving care. And so the up! is a clear and strong statement for future Volkswagen design." Furthermore, the team of designers and engineers has envisioned the up! concept car as the first member of an entire model line; other facets are entirely conceivable.

Ralf-Gerhard Willner, Director of Concept Development, has final responsibility for the technical layout of the up! He and Walterde Silva had already achieved a new balance in the mutual interaction between form and function at Volkswagen before the start of the project. "Absolute harmonyof the basic technological concept and the emotional aspects of the design", note Willner and de Silva in unison, "can only be achieved in a hard clash of ideas between engineers and designers. That is the only way to produce icons." That is precisely why the up! is not your run-of-the-mill, small, tightlypacked car, but instead is a clever, innovative whole. Its form is pure. It just had to look like this, no other look would do. There is nothing superfluous, and its functionality - and so also its design - speak for themselves. Simultaneously- and this is typical of Volkswagen - uncompromisingly attention was given to refining everyline and everysurface until we had created a friendlyand masterful car.

Exterior design

The fact that the engine of the up! runs in the rear has a decisive influence on its exterior design. That is because the up! has no classic radiator grille. It forges links to the Beetle. This fact alone gives it a great deal of independence. Dominant design characteristics are the headlamps that take an inward and diagonal line, between them the horizontally arranged air vents, the VW logo (as one of the few details kept in chrome), the tailgate that extends far forward and the smooth bumper with a circumferential black stripe as a detail of the "happy face" that is typical of Volkswagen.

In many areas, technologyand design have melded into a vehicle architecture that is not onlyappealing, but is also very utilitarian. The rear end of the up! is a good example of this. The tailgate was produced using a transparent material. Under this gate developers also integrated the high layout of the taillights. Anotherfeature that is technically and visually new is the location of the VW logo in the tailgate; it is also located behind glass and illuminates when the light is on. The rear bumper was designed to match the "happyface" in front.

The powerful appearance of the up!, despite all of its compactness, is emphasized by a verywide track width (1.42 meters) relative to vehicle width. The wheels are flush with the sporty outboard wheel arches and side skirts. The radial design of the wheels and surfaces extending right up to the edge of the rim make the 18-inch wheels appearsignificantlylargerthan theyactuallyare. The wheels that are arranged far outboard in the bumper areas reduce body overhangs to a minimum. All of these features are part of an unmistakable side profile with a verylong roof arch as well as clearand large surfaces. Giving shape to its style here are the large doors and the lateral window surfaces, which incline sharplyupward at the height of the rear wheel arch and thereby help to form the very independent C-pillardesign.

Interior design

Mounting the engine in the rear opened up entirelynew interior concepts. Relative to its exterior size, the space offering is exceptionallyforward-thinking. The same is true of its variability: Except for the driver's seat, all other seats can be folded and removed. Since they are designed as light shells, they can be quickly stowed in one of the cargo areas - besides the front trunk there is also one in the rear - to free up space. Afterwards, the entire passenger compartment length can be utilized as a storage area for especially bulky objects.

To achieve the high level of seating comfort that is usual at Volkswagen, besides their ergonomic design, in the case of the up! this level of comfort is also attained bya simple yet veryeffective trick: Similarto a self-inflating air mattress, aircan be sucked out of the seat surfaces via a valve. This means that the seats can be adjusted 1:1 to the bodyanatomies of the occupants who have just taken a seat.

Intuitive controls

On its up! concept car, Volkswagen is presenting some completely new solutions when it comes to operatorcontrols. Klaus Bischoff, Chief Designer for the Volkswagen Brand, comments on this: "Another reason the up! is so fascinating is because everything, every detail, was thought out anew. In the interior we have a touchscreen with new proximitysensortechnologyforcontrolling the navigation, radio, trip computer and climate control systems. It is operated absolutely intuitively. As a result, the most complicated functions can be controlled like child's play."

The up! has two central displays. In the cockpit, a 8-inch monitor shows the driver key information such as vehicle speed, fuel level and range, as well as momentary CO2 emissions.

In the center of the instruments - equally easy for driver and front passenger to see and control - an 7-inch monitor shows the way that future human-machine interfaces will look and operate. Here all conceivable functions can be controlled via the mentioned touchscreen, which also reacts via proximity sensor to gestures, i.e. specific hand movements.

Menuing was restocked and reorganized so that people without computerscience educations would be able to operate the system. The developers intentionally separated "display" and "control" levels from one another. Always shown on the screen is a control bar with standard functions such as climate control or audio volume control. Developers packaged functions of other higher-order systems - navigation, telephone, radio, images, movies, etc. - on a displaylevel that has been referred to internally as the "main menu carousel" - a type of virtual carousel. It consists of the icons of different system functions (telephone, navigation, etc.). When the user touches the "main menu carousel" it can be rotated by touchscreen. Visually, this control is just as spectacular as it is intuitive. When the desired function appears on the main menu carousel - such as the telephone - all the user needs to do is move his orherhand to the displayto switch over to the telephone menu, thanks to proximity sensor technology. The new type of user control is fun, easyto understand in any cultural environment and verysafe. That is precisely what is typical of Volkswagen.

[R_Ethug]

Re: 3 Cylinders FTW!

interesting