$30,000 VW BlueSport Roadster Will Be Here in 2013

| понедельник, 10 августа 2009 г.

VW-BlueSport-1Other bloggers are drooling over this car (here and here) and, we confess, so are we. It looks a bit like the Audi TT but better. It’s Miata-sized and only 2,640 lbs. With turbodiesel power (2-liters, 168 hp), you reach 62 mph in 6.6 seconds. The car may also be made available with a 265-hp, 2-liter turbocharged four for more zap. VW claims 42-50 mpg, which is pretty amazing. Best of all, the engine is behind the seats.

VW-BlueSport-2The BlueSport has a soft, manually-operated top, with room for actual luggage fore and aft. Greg Kable of Autoweek drove the concept vehicle (the only one) for 50 miles over a variety of roads and said, “Rarely have we driven a concept car with such mechanical proficiency.” He praised its handling, response and general performance, calling it the spiritual successor of the Porsche 914.

I had a 2-liter version of the 914, which used a VW boxer engine, and it was a blast to drive. I’ve always been partial to mid-engine cars, even to owning a Fiat X1-9, which had marvelous handling, good looks, no real trunk, no power, no reverse gear (after a time), and I still loved it.

The BlueSport, we are sure, will have no such problems. It takes a shared-parts approach to engineering design and strikes me as what the Boxster should have been all along. I’ll get in line with the rest of you.

How many of you are prepared to call your VW dealer right now and put an order in?

—jgoods



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