It won’t be long before we get our first glimpse of the production version of Volkswagen’s all-new Up! city car that scheduled to have its official world premiere at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
But here’s a little something we learned. While the three-door hatchback model’s looks are very similar to the original Up! Concept car displayed at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, under the sheetmetal it’s a different story as Volkswagen has ditched the study’s unique rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.
Instead, the Up! is based on the German firm’s Modularer Querbaukasten or MQB platform using a more traditional front-engine, front-wheel drive setup.
Volkswagen will offer the Lupo’s spiritual successor at launch with a choice of small displacement, three-cylinder gasoline engines with plans to add a pure-electric version into the mix at a later date.
VW UP! CONCEPTS
