Volkswagen Working on smart Rival

After the up! concept unveiled in 2007, Volkswagen is now working on a new mini car, this time with even a lower fuel consumption that would be able to compete with smart models. More importantly, Volkswagen has a major goal for the new vehicle: it must provide a fuel consumption of 2 liters per 100 km (this means approximately 117.6 mpg), according to Autoblog citing the German publication Auto Motor und Sport.

While the interior will be pretty reduced as the upcoming model will actually be a two-seater, the engine will come under the form of a 1.0-liter producing around 50 horsepower. Although the German car manufacturer initially tested a two-cylinder engine, the new model is likely to be powered by a three-cylinder variant, the aforementioned source added.

The car “will be based on the up! Architecture,” Autoblog wrote but will also provide a couple of new features that could help it compete with smart, a model which recorded increasing sales in the last few months, especially thanks to the global economic crisis.

Volkswagen plans to launch the new model in the first months of 2010, with larger versions expected in the fall of the same year.

So, after confirming plans to bring up! into mass-production, the German car manufacturer is now planning to develop a new mini car that would provide excellent fuel consumption. Volkswagen's decision is somehow understandable, especially if taking into account the consequences of the global economic crisis which “forced” customers to start looking for fuel-efficient cars, detrimental to high-performance vehicles mostly focused on engine power.