There are cars that endure for all times. They are icons of theirrntype, masterpieces of craftsmanship and technology; they put ideas intornmotion, make progress tangible and sometimes quite simply make everydayrnlife better, more practical and enjoyable. Many of these cars carry thernVW logo. "Bug, Beetle, New Beetle", "T1, Bulli, Samba bus, California",rn"Golf, GTI". Now Volkswagen is presenting - as a world premiere at thernInternational Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt - a concept car that oncernagain has the right stuff needed to move more than just one generation.rnIt is a small, pure and high-spirited Volkswagen that pays tribute tornits environment. The overall concept is marked by an innovative, clear,rnintuitive functionality. The name of the concept car: up! - a positivernname that is a synonym for departure, activity, dynamics and thernfuture. "For Volkswagen", says Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Board Member withrnResponsibility for Technical Development, "the response of IAA visitorsrnwill be a decisive test to determine whether the concept has the samernkind of potential possessed by the Beetle at one time or by the Golfrntoday."
Concept
The up! is a cityrnspecialist, a car for four persons and all languages, for the job, thernuniversity, the drive to the beach and the excursion outside the cityrngates. A small car that shows a lot of size, because it offers morernspace than any other car of similar length (3.45 meters) and widthrn(1.63 meters). Its engine - conceivable here are all facets ofrntechnology that can be sensibly applied - will run in the rear. Andrnthat changes everything: Space, mood and design.Walter de Silva, ChiefrnDesigner of the Volkswagen group, sums it up like this: "The up! is notrna car whose form will become obsolete within a very brief period ofrntime. It shines in its cleverness and yet is made with loving care. Andrnso the up! is a clear and strong statement for future Volkswagenrndesign." Furthermore, the team of designers and engineers hasrnenvisioned the up! concept car as the first member of an entire modelrnline; other facets are entirely conceivable.
Ralf-GerhardrnWillner, Director of Concept Development, has final responsibility forrnthe technical layout of the up! He and Walter de Silva had alreadyrnachieved a new balance in the mutual interaction between form andrnfunction at Volkswagen before the start of the project. "Absoluternharmony of the basic technological concept and the emotional aspects ofrnthe design", note Willner and de Silva in unison, "can only be achievedrnin a hard clash of ideas between engineers and designers. That is thernonly way to produce icons." That is precisely why the up! is not yourrnrun-of-the-mill, small, tightly packed car, but instead is a clever,rninnovative whole. Its form is pure. It just had to look like this, nornother look would do. There is nothing superf luous, and itsrnfunctionality - and so also its design - speak for themselves.rnSimultaneously - and this is typical of Volkswagen - uncompromisinglyrnattention was given to refining every line and every surface until wernhad created a friendly and masterful car.
Exterior design
Thernfact that the engine of the up! runs in the rear has a decisive infrnluence on its exterior design. That is because the up! has no classicrnradiator grille. It forges links to the Beetle. This fact alone givesrnit a great deal of independence. Dominant design characteristics arernthe headlamps that take an inward and diagonal line, between them thernhorizontally arranged air vents, the VW logo (as one of the few detailsrnkept in chrome), the tailgate that extends far forward and the smoothrnbumper with a circumferential black stripe as a detail of the "happyrnface" that is typical of Volkswagen.
In many areas, technologyrnand design have melded into a vehicle architecture that is not onlyrnappealing, but is also very utilitarian. The rear end of the up! is arngood example of this. The tailgate was produced using a transparentrnmaterial. Under this gate developers also integrated the high layout ofrnthe taillights. Another feature that is technically and visually new isrnthe location of the VW logo in the tailgate; it is also located behindrnglass and illuminates when the light is on. The rear bumper wasrndesigned to match the "happy face" in front.
The powerfulrnappearance of the up!, despite all of its compactness, is emphasized byrna very wide track width (1.42 meters) relative to vehicle width. Thernwheels are flush with the sporty outboard wheel arches and side skirts.rnThe radial design of the wheels and surfaces extending right up to thernedge of the rim make the 18-inch wheels appear significantly largerrnthan they actually are.
The wheels that are arranged far outboardrnin the bumper areas reduce body overhangs to a minimum. All of thesernfeatures are part of an unmistakable side profile with a very long roofrnarch as well as clear and large surfaces. Giving shape to its stylernhere are the large doors and the lateral window surfaces, which inclinernsharply upward at the height of the rear wheel arch and thereby help tornform the very independent C-pillar design.
Interior design
Mountingrnthe engine in the rear opened up entirely new interior concepts.rnRelative to its exterior size, the space offering is exceptionallyrnforward-thinking. The same is true of its variability: Except for therndriver's seat, all other seats can be folded and removed. Since theyrnare designed as light shells, they can be quickly stowed in one of therncargo areas - besides the front trunk there is also one in the rear -rnto free up space. Afterwards, the entire passenger compartment lengthrncan be utilized as a storage area for especially bulky objects.
Tornachieve the high level of seating comfort that is usual at Volkswagen,rnbesides their ergonomic design, in the case of the up! this level ofrncomfort is also attained by a simple yet very effective trick: Similarrnto a self-inf lating air mattress, air can be sucked out of the seatrnsurfaces via a valve. This means that the seats can be adjusted 1:1 tornthe body anatomies of the occupants who have just
taken a seat.
Intuitive controls
Onrnits up! concept car, Volkswagen is presenting some completely newrnsolutions when it comes to operator controls. Klaus Bischoff, ChiefrnDesigner for the Volkswagen Brand, comments on this: "Another reasonrnthe up! is so fascinating is because everything, every detail, wasrnthought out anew. In the interior we have a touchscreen with newrnproximity sensor technology for controlling the navigation, radio, triprncomputer and climate control systems. It is operated absolutelyrnintuitively. As a result, the most complicated functions can berncontrolled like child's play."
The up! has two central displays.rnIn the cockpit, a 8-inch monitor shows the driver key information suchrnas vehicle speed, fuel level and range, as well as momentary CO2rnemissions.
In the center of the instruments - equally easy forrndriver and front passenger to see and control - an 7-inch monitor showsrnthe way that future human-machine interfaces will look and operate.rnHere all conceivable functions can be controlled via the mentionedrntouchscreen, which also reacts via proximity sensor to gestures, i.e.rnspecific hand movements.
Menuing was restocked and reorganized sornthat people without computer science educations would be able tornoperate the system. The developers intentionally separated "display"rnand "control" levels from one another. Always shown on the screen is arncontrol bar with standard functions such as climate control or audiornvolume control. Developers packaged functions of other higher-orderrnsystems - navigation, telephone, radio, images, movies, etc. - on arndisplay level that has been referred to internally as the "main menurncarousel" - a type of virtual carousel. It consists of the icons ofrndifferent system functions (telephone, navigation, etc.). When the userrntouches the "main menu carousel" it can be rotated by touchscreen.rnVisually, this control is just as spectacular as it is intuitive. Whenrnthe desired function appears on the main menu carousel - such as therntelephone - all the user needs to do is move his or her hand to therndisplay to switch over to the telephone menu, thanks to proximityrnsensor technology. The new type of user control is fun, easy tornunderstand in any cultural environment and very safe. That is preciselyrnwhat is typical of Volkswagen.
