Achtung!Volkswagen has always been a weird brand. Let's face it, the company was in cahoots with Hitler to build a "People's Car" that eventually became the VW Beetle; which at this point has become the international wheeled symbol of hippies and peace protesters! So you have to figure, with such a convoluted past, chances are pretty good that any glimpse into the vee-dub future is going to be pretty bizarre as well.
And this concept confirms it. Called the Concept A, it's the brainchild of a bunch of wacky Germans who sat around a table a
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| The Concept A cuts an interesting figure, being part truck, part convertible, part hatchback. (Photo: Volkswagen Canada) |
nd asked themselves what CAN'T they get a car to do. The result is this car/truck/sports car combo. Powered by a twincharged (that's supercharged and turbocharged in case you were wondering) 1.4L four-cylinder that cranks out 150 horsepower, the Concept A's drivetrain motto is "maximum driving pleasure, minimum consumption." And yes, you read that right; this car actually has a drivetrain motto. Lame, but true... anyway, all that power gets to the ground via a six-speed manual transmission and Volkswagen's all-wheel drive system; 4Motion. Volkswagen is quick to point out, though, that while this "study" comes equipped with this particular drivetrain, they can easily fit both the Polo GTI's 200 horsepower direct-injection powerplant, or for the more fuel conscious, a diesel. As the press release says, "
Studies can do, and are allowed anything." As a study in design, the Concept A gets top marks for absolute coolness. Star
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| The Concept A uses a 150 horsepower twincharged motor, but it could accept the Polo GTI's 200 hp mill or a turbodiesel. (Photo: Volkswagen Canada) |
ting with the front end, Volkswagen started with a Cheetah for i
nspiration. It's ok if you don't see it either, just be content with the knowledge that somewhere, at some point, a designer looked at a picture of a Cheetah and drew this. We're pretty sure he was blind, but hey, the end result looks great... it just doesn't look a whole lot like a Cheetah. The new standard-issue Volkswagen grille takes centre stage, flanked by massive cheekbones/inlets that would, on the production model, either feed a radiator, intercoolers, or brakes. The press release also cites "trapeze shaped" headlights that apparently break with the round headlight tradition that began with the Beetle, which begs the question; if the Passat, Eos, Jetta, Scirocco, Corrado, Phaeton, Polo, and just about every model EXCEPT the Beetle has broken with that tradition already, can you still call it a tradition? Moving back, the windshield is encased in aluminum, much like the current crop of Audi convertibles. The roof, in grand roadster style, gets noticeably taller after leaving the windshield, b
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| A pillarless suicide door system similiar to crew-cab pickup trucks would probably be axed due to crash safety. (Photo: Volkswagen Canada) |
efore sloping down to the tail. Next up are the doors: a simple pillarless suicide door system, similar to those found on crew-cab pickup trucks, works well on such a small car, and it is most likely far, far easier to get in and out of this concept than it is to do so in many production cars. Unfortunately, modern crash test requirements mean that even if this concept were to make it into production (which is in and of itself highly unlikely), chances are good that unless VW offered an option entitled "Invincibility," the suicide doors would need to be axed in order to properly brace the car and fit airbags. Finally, the Concept A's hatchback design is modular, meaning that the lower part can be opened independently, and just like a pickup can stay open for the transport of long items, or it can be left as is, and the car is a conventional (and cool) hatchback.
