The first prototypes of the Volkswagen Up! minicar have arrived in Death Valley today. Although they're draped in some pretty heavy camouflage, it's clear that the production Up! will be very similar to the concept.
Volkswagen has already announced that it is preparing to start production of the Up! next year at its plant in Slovakia. The lineup will include this two-door coupe as well as the larger Space Up! and Space Up! Blue, both of which were unveiled as concepts several years ago.
At the moment, plans for sales in the U.S. are tentative. Volkswagen is weighing its desire for a higher overall sales in the U.S. with the fact that cars of this stature typically aren't all that popular on this side of the Atlantic. Expect to see the final production version of the Up! coupe soon as sales in European are expected to start less than a year from now.
andy999 says:
11:58 AM, 08/26/10
Rumor has it, . . . that the entry, base option package will be labeled as "Up!",
The second tier option group will be labeled as "Up & Up",
And, the highest trim level will be labeled as "Up,Up, & Away!!!"
And, then again, . . . this could just be a rumor!!!
throwback says:
12:16 PM, 08/26/10
This car looks even smaller than the concept. Must be the wheels.
cz_75 says:
01:33 PM, 08/26/10
I hope that they won't bring this POS here, yet not give us the Amarok.
hal9000 says:
02:39 PM, 08/26/10
Why is VW even bothering with the camouflage? Are we to believe the front/rear won't carry a similar design from the Golf,Polo, Touran, Scirocco,etc.? Guess we're supposed to be on the edge of our seat as to what the C-pillar will look like...
...and for the love of all that is holy get a person to edit for you Edmunds! Day after day your stories have mistakes!
"...as sales in European are expected to start less than a year from now."
supra4 says:
04:29 PM, 08/26/10
Who buy's these things?
alex38 says:
07:39 PM, 08/26/10
Even this looks more like the CRX replacement than the new CR-Z, just playin.. (and i'm guessing it'll probably look much better than the CR-Z when its revealed)
ms3hothatch says:
05:01 AM, 08/27/10
It's looks like a chevy spark to me.
frank908 says:
07:08 AM, 08/27/10
It looks like a Fiat 500/Fiesta/Spark/wish we were all the Mini Cooper cause that's the only small car that (currently) sells in the states.
firstwagon says:
05:27 PM, 08/29/10
????
It doesn't look anything like a Fiesta or a 500.