Last month’s rumors of VW’s Up! minicar switching from a rear-drive, rear-engine layout to a more economical front-wheel drive, front engine design have been confirmed. “Our engineers favored a rear engine and fought until the end for that solution,” VW group CEO Martin Winterkorn said. This means the bean-counters once again won over engineers, saving the company money as more components can be shared with other FWD VW models.
The engineers argued a rear engine layout would allow more passenger and cargo space, but would add complexity in cooling system design as well, reports Automotive News. We’d argue a rear-engine layout is also an appealing novelty that could help boost sales.
The decision will reportedly delay the production car’s debut by as much as five months. Thus far, the car is not meant for U.S. consumption, though that may change when the dollar-to-euro exchange rate becomes more favorable.
The delay, which also means the minicar will now likely launch early in 2011 as opposed to the originally planned 2010 release, will give a much bigger head start to competitor cars from Toyota and Fiat, according to Automotive News. The Fiat Topolino is due to reach showrooms before 2010, while Toyota’s IQ will launch in Europe early in 2009.
VW hopes to sell half a million Up! models in Europe and other emerging markets, with the U.S. a possibility as well. The Smart ForTwo competitor will include a hatchback, minivan and sedan, and be sold under the VW, Skoda and Seat brands under different model names.
