Volkswagen is reportedly working on an affordable mid-engine sports car along the lines of the Lotus Elise and Toyota MR2, which it plans to release sometime early next decade. The car is expected to be available in both coupe and roadster bodystyles, and production could even be outsourced to an independent vehicle manufacturer such as Karmaan. The information comes from the boss of VW, Martin Winterkorn, who also confirmed that a concept version of the roadster will be showcased at this November’s Los Angeles Auto Show.
The new concept is being developed under the supervision of VW design chief Walter de’ Silva and will be used to gauge public opinion in preparation for development of the final production version. VW has a tradition of rolling out extravagant roadster concept vehicles and then packing them away, never to be seen again, however an inside source has revealed to AutoWeek that this time ‘round the concept will be given the green light.
To keep production costs low, the car will share parts with a number of existing VW models and there’s speculation that it may even spawn an Audi variant, the long-rumored R4. Elements unique to the cars will be an aluminum-spaceframe chassis, a mid-engine and RWD layout, and a range of high-output 2.0L forced-induction engines. There’s talk that even Porsche could build a version of the car as a successor to the 1970’s 914.
Previous VW roadster concepts that were never given the green light for production include 2003’s Concept R, a high-end roadster penned by the company’s former design guru Peter Schreyer, as well as 2005’s Eco Racer (pictured) study.
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Marty Howard
2011 NASA SE Factory Five Challenge Champion
Track Events Logistics Coordinator - TZC/THSCC
2007 Factory Five Challenge Car.
http://www.mh-motorsports.com
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