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As if being new and distinctive wasn’t enough, renowned Volkswagen Group tuner ABT has focused its attention to the smallest member of the VW family, the Up, releasing details of a very bright styling kit. The Kempten, German-based company says that the red, white and black kit ‘draws upon the extravagant designs of the “Swinging Sixties” with which the power versions of plain mass-consumption cars – from “Herbie” the Beetle to Renault Gordinis and Mini Coopers – showed that sensible can also be cool.’

The father of ABT Sportline’s managing director was very much into his motorsports and was successful, too, both inspirations which the tuner has used to embellish the small Volkswagen. Still ecological and economic, the graphics lend an aggressive air, with the champfered window line, front and rear bumper ‘smiles’, and side skirts being picked out in contrasting red on this white car. A black roof and bonnet matches the glass tailgate, while the white stripes evoke those classic white lines of blue Renault Gordinis.

Lowered suspension springs and a fruitier twin-pipe exhaust with red-trimmed tunnel help the sporty looks, too, while mirror caps and ABT-branded red hub covers complete the makeover. The car will debut at the Geneva motor show next month, where we expect ABT Sportsline GmbH to release final and official pricing details.

Hot on the heels of its victory at the What Car? Car of the Year 2012 awards, the diminutive Volkswagen Up is once again in the news, as the new family-friendly five-door variant is unveiled. The 2.42-metre wheelbase stays the same, as does the efficient three-cylinder engine. The main noticeable difference when compared to the three-door (with the exception of two rather obvious additional doors), is the rear profile styling. The Up’s unique upward rear window kink has given way to a downward styling line, reminiscent of that on the three-door Škoda Citigo and SEAT Mii. Prices for the five-door Up will be announced nearer the on-sale date of summer 2012. The full Volkswagen UK press release follows.

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Even before it has hit UK roads, the small new Volkswagen Up has claimed top honours at the prestigious What Car? awards, being named both Car of the Year for 2012 as well as best City Car. Taking the Car of the Year title for a record sixth time makes Volkswagen the most successful manufacturer at the UK magazine’s awards since their inception 34 years ago in 1978.

It was a highly successful night for the manufacturer overall at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’ held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, with the Golf returning as winner of the Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also taking the coveted Safety Award for the Up’s City Emergency Braking System, which applies the brakes if it detects objects ahead of the car.

Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen Up sets new standards for a car at £10,000. It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new class levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up. Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the Up is a very worthy winner of this year’s What Car? Car of the Year.’

Once again, the What Car? editorial team found the evergreen Golf hard to fault, and summed up by saying: ‘The Golf now has four wins in a row in our Small Family Car category – proof that Volkswagen got the package just right. This is a particularly demanding category, but the Golf has all the right ingredients: it’s practical, comfortable and good to drive, holds its value well and is economical. It’s really all the car most people will ever need.’

Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand with responsibility for Development collected the award and commented: ‘We are very grateful for this award which recognises the achievements and qualities of our new small car, the Up. We set out to design a car which would combine Volkswagen values and maximum space in a distilled and compact package; a car which embodies the pure essence of the brand. From its modern, clean and efficient engines, through its class-leading safety features to its innovative infotainment system, it is a design which encapsulates modern urban mobility.’

The Up is available to order now, with prices starting from £7,995 (RRP ‘On The Road’) with the first raft of models arriving in UK showrooms in March 2012. For more details on Volkswagen’s multi-award-winning range of cars, visit www.volkswagen.co.uk.

[Source: Volkswagen UK]

‘Small, but perfectly warmed.’ That’s how Volkswagen is guerilla marketing the GT Up concept, the latest almost-production-ready version of its new Up city car. By far the most pleasing (to our hot-hatch-loving eyes anyway) version of VW’s new baby to be unveiled at September’s Frankfurt motor show, the pint-sized package points to a possible new sports-orientated Up GTI, and we’re definitely in favour of one of those. Volkswagen states that the GT Up ‘promises to distil the driving pleasure of the seminal hot hatch, the GTI, into a powerful yet petite package’, and on looks alone, it ticks all the boxes.

Cue endless headlines about how the GT Up channels the original idea of the Volkswagen Mk 1 Golf GTI – it’s no surely no coincidence that both the weight and power of the two cars are similar. But, as the Golf GTI celebrates 35 years in the spotlight, why not make a fuss about a possibly successor that promises to have everything that light and nimble first-generation GTI enjoyed? Indeed, Volkswagen itself is making the comparison, and the GT Up employs the modern GTI wide-mouthed honeycomb grille, and 17-inch alloy wheels, similar to the ‘Watkins Glen’ rims fitted to the Golf GTI Edition 35.

The grille itself is flanked by twin cooling ducts which direct air to the front brakes, and LED daytime running lights. No details on the GT Up’s engine have been released, but with it heralding around 100bhp, we reckon on a version of the new 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit powering the standard Up models, or VW’s 1.2-litre turbocharged powerplant, if it can be made to fit under the GT Up’s stubby bonnet. Sporty addenda features around the back of Volkswagen’s hot tot, too, with extended side sills, a deep roof spoiler and black diffuser housing twin exhaust pipes all playing their visual part.

No images of the cabin have been shown, but Volkswagen assures us that it is ‘no less sporty’. The traditional GTI black roof lining is offset by anthracite-coloured sports seats, with the centres trimmed in a blue chequered pattern, again referencing both the modern and original GTIs. A gloss black dashboard and upper door trim panels are said to contrast well with the blue-ringed air vent nozzles, while a the driver threads the GT Up through crowded city streets and into the countryside with a leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel.

Volkswagen resolutely states that the GT Up remains a concept for now, but that it ‘certainly received a favourable reception when it was shown at the recent Frankfurt motor show’. So, is production likely? We hope so, but don’t bank on the GTI-themed Up arriving before summer 2012. The order books for the standard three-door Up have recently been opened in the UK, with first customer deliveries expected in spring 2012. Available in three models ranging from £7995 to £10,390, two further special edition cars are available at £11,180. Visit your Volkswagen Retailer or Volkswagen UK’s Up website pages.

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