24 Oct 07
Volkswagen's Space Up! is a van concept based on the Up! mini concept shown last month at Frankfurt. It points the way ahead for a small new VW production car, while drawing heavily on Volkswagen's own heritage, with barn-style door openings and a rear-mounted engine echoing the Microbus and Beetle.
It's 23cm longer than the Up! and 4cm taller, creating enough room for four adults. A third Up! concept is expected to be revealed at next month's Los Angeles Motor Show, completing a potential family of small cars priced below the Polo and with far more appeal than the Fox. It would use two- and three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, with the possibility of electric models in the future... Charge Up! perhaps?
Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, VW's head of technical development, said: 'We have been working flat out on our new small family.' The new platform gave VW 'a sea of creativity', he added.
Hackenberg wouldn't be drawn on whether any production version of the Space Up! would feature those expensive rear-hinged doors. Pushed as to whether the Up!'s innovative touchscreen interface was developed with Apple, Hackenburg would only say that the two companies had been in contact with each other.
With Volkswagen boasting of huge positive feedback from the original Up! concept shown in Frankfurt six weeks ago, and a world adjusting to smaller, more environmentally friendly cars, the production of the Up! really can't come soon enough.
Check out the rest of our Tokyo Motor Show coverage
