Production VW up! may drop rear engine and RWD

We'll admit to being a bit shocked that Volkswagen was even considering a move back to the rear-engine configuration it made fashionable all those years ago with its first vehicle, the ubiquitous Beetle, for the production version of its up! concept. Although we have some fondness in our hearts for the good ol' Bug and its backwards engine location, modern packaging constraints may force VW to ditch this idea for the production version of the up!, just like it did for the modern reincarnation of that first Vee Dub, the New Beetle. Out would go the uniqueness of the concept vehicle with this decision, but such is life in these days of platform sharing and cost considerations.
To go along with the previously noted nostalgia-crushing news, rumors indicate that both a 1.2-liter gasoline engine and a new diesel engine of the same displacement are expected, both offering just 55 horsepower. If this power level is accurate, at least the up! will share one thing with its Beetle forebear: really slow acceleration.

[ Via: Motor Authority ]
[ Tag: front engine, FrontEngine, rear engine, RearEngine, volkswagen, volkswagen up, VolkswagenUp, vw, vw up, VwUp ]

Rumormill: Volkswagen partnering with KTM on motorcycle?

Shortly after the revelation that Volkswagen wished it hadn't passed up on the opportunity to purchase famed Italian bike maker Ducati, comes a word that the German automaker has plans for its own line of motorcycles. What we can say for sure is that the rumored bike isn't likely to look anything like the picture above, which nonetheless is an interesting mash-up of an Aprilia trellis frame along with bodywork from MV Agusta. At least the artist chose good stock from which to pilfer. KTM, more and more a serious manufacturer itself, is the likely source of bike-specific components and is rumored to be providing technical know-how to VW as a sort-of repayment for the help it received in designing the awesome X-Bow, which uses an Audi engine. KTM is known in the bike realm for producing excellent engines, so basing a possible VeeDub VeeTwin on existing Katoom architecture strikes us as a good idea. What also strikes us as a good idea is the reconsideration of the ill-fated GX3 three-wheeler, which was axed over fears of possible litigation. If VW were to sponsor a range of two-wheelers already, though, the GX3 would be a much safer bet for future production. Let us cross our collective fingers on this one.

[ Via: Auto Express ]
[ Tag: ktm,motorcycle,volkswagen,volkswagen motorcycle,volkswagen-motorcycle,VolkswagenMotorcycle,vw,vw motorcycle,vw-motorcycle,VwMotorcycle ]