FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: up! and at 'em

It's hardly breaking news. The team from Wolfsburg's protracted unveiling of a new light hatch has been in and out of the limelight for quite some time. But now, it's finally here. 

Due to make its public debut at the Frankfurt motor show next month, up! will offer a choice of three BlueMotion engines from launch, each 1.0-litre in capacity. Two of the engines will run on petrol, the third on natural gas.

Output varies from 44kW to 55kW with the natural gas model delivering 50kW. Fuel consumption for the trio is 4.2L/100km, 4.3L/100km and 3.2L/100km respectively. CO2 emissions are as low as 79g/km.

An all-electric up! is slated for delivery in 2013.

Designed primarily for inner-city use, the 3.54 metre long up! will offer all the safety equipment found in larger cars, and thanks to a new financing model, will be "affordable for everyone" – just like the original Beetle, Volkswagen says.

up! will be offered in three trim levels, the entry-spec 'move up!', mid-spec 'one' and top-spec 'high up!'. The top version will be offered in two independent variants, 'up! black' and 'up! white' (referring to the trim colour).

Space utilisation is dubbed by Volkswagen to be like that of a small giant. The engine is mounted well forward to maximise cabin space while the wheelbase is among the longest in its class.

"If the goal is to maximise space, the ideal form for a small car would be a rectangular box," said VW's design boss, Klaus Bischoff. "In the up! we were able to sculpt such a box with a clean and powerful design that does not lose sight of space utilisation."

Depending on guise, up! is offered with a wide-ranging choice of equipment including a Portable Infotainment Device (or PID) with information including satellite navigation, Bluetooth telephony, ParkPilot and up!-specific Apps.

The Volkswagen up! is slated for European launch in December this year.

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