Second variant of the space wonder by Volkswagen
Georgeous! Amazing! I want one! Now!
Wolfsburg/Tokyo, , 24 October 2007 – Just six weeks after the world premiere of the two-door city specialist – the up! – at the IAA in Frankfurt, Europe’s largest car producer is now showing the next member of the “New Small Family” – the space up! concept car – at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Being the largest small Volkswagen, the space up! is a small space wonder; on just 3.68 meters length and 1.63 meters width it offers the space of a significantly larger vehicle. The designers intentionally avoided any superfluous gimmickry here. Like the up!, the space up! is characterized by a fully new harmony between technical layout on the one hand and emotional design on the other.
The clever space concept of the space up! is largely due to its engine layout. The environmentally friendly gasoline, diesel and electric drives of the future up! family are located – as they were at one time on the Beetle and the Bulli – in the rear. An abbreviated comparison: The four-door space up! is exactly 23 centimeters longer and four centimeters taller than the up! shown at the IAA in Frankfurt.
“The world premiere of the up! at the IAA in Frankfurt served as an initial test to see how the concept of our New Small Family would be received in Europe. And the results of this test were more than favorable,” says Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Head of Technical Development. Walter de Silva, Chief Designer of the Volkswagen Group, underscores this assessment: “In formal design terms, one can see that the space up! is fun and at the same time offers maximum space on the smallest of platforms. Our New Small Family brings a smile back to the road.”
- VW Media
Technorati Tags: VW, Volkswagen, Volkswagen space up!, space up!, oneighturbo
Sorry Fred. Meant to reply to this post earlier.
Why there is no reasoning in the article regarding a rear engine is beyond me. I do agree that opening up the frontal area could make it easier. I'm not an engineer but wouldn't an engine help in an added wall of sorts?
I do agree that today we are seeing a shift in design. Interior, exterior and yes engine and drive train. I'd go as far as to say that 99% of us do not use 90% of the vehicle we own.
Driving on the highway almost everyday now, I see more and more single drivers with large vehicles. I to am single although I drive a small car, as VW New Beetle (2900lbs.)
There have been a lot of Volkswagen enthusiast that want the Lupo brought over. This is it. Even if it's another brand, yes these small concepts will take over.
Even if it isn't small, engine types and energy types will. Volkswagen's TDI, TFSI and TSI engines are amazing.
One of these days I'll switch. I love my mod'd 1.8T except that I have to run premium. My wife does like both the Tiguan and this space up!
Why is there no mention of the main reason for putting the engine in the rear? Removing the engine from the front makes it easier to design a crash absorbing structure in a small car with limited space.
This car is a paradigm shift to go with the Mitsubishi iCar and shows the way toward the future: smaller, more efficient use of interior space, simplified drive train, smaller engines with fewer components. The seats are brilliant. Finally a break from an 80 year old tradition in seat design.
Now, chuck those oversize wheels, which are for fashion only and put some realistic rubber on them for real road conditions.
This is more than enough car for 90% of our needs. Most of the time we drive alone. On average we use a 4,000 pound machine to move a 200 pound payload. Only cheap, readily available fuel has allowed us the luxury of this type of gross inefficiency. Those days are over.
When the gas lines of 1973 come back (and they will — it’s a matter of when not if), this car concept will be a number one seller.