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Volkswagen might showcase the Up! city car for the first time in India at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo. The Up! is the smallest car in Volkswagen’s range and has previously been spotted testing in Pune. When launched in India it will be priced Rs 5.5 lakh onwards, competing with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Ritz and Hyundai Grand i10.
The Up! is a part of Volkswagen’s ambitious project to enter the small car market worldwide. Based on the New Small Family Platform (NSF) the Up! sports a distinct look as compared to the other cars in Volkswagen’s range. The base front-wheel-drive transverse-engined car has spawned off numerous concepts and variants. Popular among these are the basic European-spec two-door hatch, a four-door hatch, a beach buggy version called ‘Up! Buggy’ and a diesel hybrid called ‘Twin Up!’.The car has been designed ground up with the aim of keeping the manufacturing costs, and subsequently the price of the finished product to a minimum.
The four-door version of the Up! makes sense in a market like India and is the most likely variant to be displayed at the Auto Expo. The car will be available with two engine options. The diesel is a 0.8-litre two-cylinder turbocharged unit developing 51bhp and 100Nm of torquewhile the other is a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol mill engine pumping 75bhp and 183Nm of torque.
Though it has the same overall length, the four-door version looks bigger than the two-door one, owing to its increased wheelbase.Quite a few interior bits have been borrowed from other VW cars to keep development costs down. Volkswagen will have to modify the hatchback in some areas, like the rear windows, which don't wind down and add an extra rear seat to the four-seater to make it more suitable for the Indian market.
Besides the Up!, Volkswagen is also expected to display the SUV Tiguan and the compact crossover Taigun at the Auto Expo.
