VW to Produce Microcar Smaller than Upcoming Up!

What’s up with VW’s Up!? When Volkswagen introduced the little microcar in Frankfurt last year, it was going to be a rear-engine, rear-drive city car, paying homage to the classic Beetle. Then news surfaced that Wolfsburg was still going to build it, but in order to keep the price down it would have to find underpinnings from a front-wheel drive model already in production. OK, not quite as cool, but still doable. While all of this was taking place Daimler started to enjoy tremendous success in the US with its little smart fortwo and Toyota announced its ultra-smart iQ that surfaced at the same auto show is heading for production both smaller than the four-seat Up!. What’s more, even BMW is reported to be working on a tiny tot along the line of the Isetta… but probably without the front door. So is VW’s Up! too big?

No, it’s perfect for the small four-seat market currently occupied by the likes of Fiat’s ultra-hip 500, enchanter of trend-setting Europeans, but there seems to be room for a slightly smaller offering with only two seats, along  the lines of smart’s fortwo.

Following in smart’s tire treads, the car is likely to get a small four cylinder with 1.2 liters of displacement, or possibly a three-cylinder diesel, or so says Britain’s Autocar magazine, which has been talking to some insiders about the project. Volkswagen is said to be working on a cylinder deactivation system for the former engine, so that it will be able to run on just two cylinders and save even more fuel, which would result in an unfathomable 117 mpg. If that’s not good enough, an electric powertrain is also reportedly part of the overall package.

According to a Autocar, Wolfsburg is giving the microcar project top priority, wanting to see it on the road by 2011. Word has it that it will be called Chico, which is cute for sure, but maybe they should drop the “o” and just call it Chic.