Talk about a future Volkswagen roadster has reignited after VW design Chief Walter de Silva acknowledged that such project has still a lot of support within the company. Although the 2009 BlueSport roadster concept was put on hold because VW didn’t see a business case for it, there are at least some executives within the brand who still believe in the potential of a small roadster.
“I’m not the only one in our company who is convinced that a small roadster wouldn’t be the worst thing for Volkswagen,” de Silva said in an interview with Germany’s AMS magazine. “This is a vehicle that we particularly like, and we always have in mind,” VW’s design boss added.
Unveiled at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show, the VW BlueSport study was seen as a possible rival for the Mazda MX-5. Powered by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine developing 180 PS and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque, the BlueSport had an average fuel consumption of just 4.3 liters/100 km (54.7 US mpg) and CO2 emissions of 113 g/km.
The BlueSport covered the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint in 6.6 seconds and reached a top speed of 226 km/h (140 mph). The car could also accommodate gasoline TSI engines and was developed as a common project of VW, Audi and Porsche, with each brand getting its own variant.
By Dan Mihalascu
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