third version of innovative up! concept draws inspiration from classic vw microbus.
vamos ver se passa do esboço!the vw camper is back! after years of speculation, volkswagen has pulled the covers off the modern day successor to the classic samba bus – only this time, it’s more compact and produces zero emissions.
officially called the space up! blue, it was unveiled at the los angeles motor show. the model is the third version of the german maker’s urban vision, and follows the original up! show car seen at the frankfurt expo and the larger space up! which made its debut in tokyo earlier this year.
the latest concept has looked to the past for inspiration – just as we said it would in issue 983. adopting a more mature appearance to previous up! variants, this car has additional roof windows – a feature that made the original samba bus so distinctive. the upright rear also shares the near-vertical tailgate of the classic model.
but there’s much more to the latest show-stopper than its retro theme. under the skin it debuts what vw is calling “a powertrain revolution”. the concept has the world’s first high-temperature fuel cell – complete with 12 lithium-ion batteries.
the zero-emission car also comes with a 60bhp electric motor. when running on battery power, the up! blue gives a range of 65 miles. energy is replenished either via an electrical plug socket or by vw’s new hydrogen fuel cells. when running on these, the up! blue can travel 155 miles, meaning a total range of 220 miles. vw claims the technology is important because it’s closer to production than any rival set-ups. low weight and manufacturing costs mean the systems could soon be a viable alternative to conventional internal combustion engines.
but that’s not the end of the clever technology. the up! blue also has a solar panel on its roof, which supplies 150 watts of energy to the battery.
as with other up! variants, the latest model has been produced with optimum packaging in mind. measuring 368cm long, 157cm high and 163cm wide, the vw is perfect for tight city roads. inside, its rear-engined layout means plenty of space in the cabin, while the 1,090kg kerbweight is impressive given the mass of the fuel cell and batteries. a version of the up! is likely to go into production before the end of the decade.
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoe ... ce_up.html
