---

Preview: New VW up! minivan, cabrio and SUV

Posted on Tuesday 9 October 2007

It’s often the case that a radical concept car will be developed for a major car show only to be put away in storage never to be heard of or seen again once the show’s over. Fortunately for fans of the up! concept VW won’t be mothballing its new baby and will instead unveil even more variants. Destined for the upcoming Tokyo and L.A. motor shows are two new variants of the up!, a new minivan version and a plug-in hybrid. The big news is that these aren’t just pure concepts but are in fact actual design previews of future VW models.

Some of the cars planned for VW’s ‘New Small Family’ includes a five-door minivan, an electric car and possible SUV and cabrio versions. One element will be common between all the cars will be a rear-engine configuration with RWD as standard, although some cars will feature an AWD option. There will also be both premium versions of the up! cars and low cost models, with the latter reserved for emerging markets.

Last month, VW’s U.S. Chief Adrian Hallmark revealed an up! cabrio will be sold in the States by 2010 and that it will come with a soft-top manual roof and either full or mild hybrid drivetrains. Hallmark also claims the up! cars will have as much interior space as the VW Polo with removable seats for extra storage.

---