In order to prepare the public for the arrival of the up! in 2011, Volkswagen did not skimp on concept cars and other style studies. It all started with a prototype at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the fall of 2007, an immaculate white vehicle with a three-door silhouette and rims with a neo-retro spirit close to the Beetle. picture
The passenger compartment, for its part, pioneers the digital interfaces which are the norm today. To evoke the polymorphous side of its future city car which will be available as the market wanted at the time in three or five doors, Volkswagen continues at the Tokyo Motor Show two months later with the space up. The latter relies on 5 openings and emphasizes rear doors with antagonistic opening and a body structure without a middle pillar, two elements which will not cross the threshold of industrialization.
When the up summons the combi and the ladybug
Still in the vein of the family vehicle but this time with a nod to the celebrated Combi well before the ID.Buzz, the space up Blue Concept prototype is on display at the 2007 Los Angeles Motor Show. Its white roof pierced by small Windows are an evocation of that of the VW T1 Samba Bus. While at the rear, hinged doors in 2/3-1/3 format mimic those of a Mini Clubman.
The Wolfsburg brand, in order not to give indigestion to the public, let the idea of the up rest for two years before bringing it back to life at the Frankfurt IAA 2009 show with the e-up! concept whose lines, with the exception of the muzzle which is still being explored and displays a look evoking the fires of the Beetle, are almost definitive.
The electrification path is announced. To emphasize the somewhat austere geometric design of the vehicle, VW continues its offensive in 2010 with a prototype called Berlin Taxi Concept featuring a long wheelbase and an asymmetrical body structure.. Indeed, on the left side the machine has only one door so that the driver can access the driving position while on the right side, there is no front opening but only a rear door sliding towards the front.
A singularity justified by a storage space for luggage located to the right of the driver. In order to attract the main European markets, the taxi concept was rolled out in 2010 to the cities of London and Milan. image
A 5 concept festival in Frankfurt in 2011
2011 marks an acceleration with no less than 5 variations around the theme and also a turning point towards the world of leisure, at the Frankfurt Motor Showthe buggy up prototype gives great freedom to designers and ensures the link with the Cross up concept very close to the standard “baroudeuse” up, during the same show, the e-up concept once again conveys the message of electric.
And to open up the spectrum as much as possible, this time announcing the up GTI of 2015, the VW GT up concept is the tracksuit version. The final touch will be carried by the Azzura Sailing Team Concept concocted by Italdesign, a unique example with the philosophy of airy taxis from the island of Capri in Italy. Or the perfect annex to place on the deck of your yacht.
An imagined diesel hybrid version
Once the up was launched in dealerships, the brand did not let its guard down with the cross up prototypes in 2012, which is none other than the barely decorated production version, the EcoFuel and the e-up prototype announcing the next developments in the range. In 2013, at the Tokyo Motor Show, the twin-up concept this time plays the diesel hybridization card using the mechanics of the VW XL1. Did Volkswagen want to give the 3-liter Lupo an heir? All that was missing was a utility version, this will be done in 2014 with the “Follow me” e-load up study, a two-seater or even single-seater version using the cubic passenger compartment as a large loading space. In 2015, the idea of the VW up GTI came back into fashion with the up TSI prototype then in 2017 the up GTI concept.
