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The new Polo GTI has been unveiled, promising to be the fastest, most focussed and cleanest performance Polo yet produced. The original performance variant of the Polo was unveiled in 1986 in the form of the G40 Coupé – a car that mixed a fast-revving, 113 PS, supercharged engine with a low kerbweight and sharpened responses. Fast forward 24 years and the new Polo GTI bears similarities with the G40.  At its heart is a 1.4-litre TSI engine that uses a supercharger from idle through to 3,000 rpm at which point the turbocharger cuts in to provide boost.  The result is an output of 180 PS at 6,200 rpm and 184 lbs ft of torque from 2,000 rpm which, when aligned with a 1,184 kg kerbweight, allows the Polo GTI to accelerate from rest to 62 mph in 6.9 seconds before reaching a top speed of 142 mph.

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The all-new Touareg has been unveiled – a car which is up to 200 kg lighter and up to 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the model it replaces.  It’s sharper, cleaner and yet, in Hybrid form, able to out-accelerate many hot hatches while returning 34 mpg on the combined cycle.  The new vehicle maintains all the same virtues of space, comfort, refinement and off-road and towing ability that have led the original Touareg to build up a loyal following since its launch in 2003. Clean new styling which draws inspiration from the design direction established by the Golf Mk VI, the new Polo and the New Compact Coupé concept lends the new Touareg greater presence and a lower drag coefficient without sacrificing the functional requirements of short front and rear overhangs for off-roading.

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Volkswagen has unveiled the New Compact Coupé, a concept that delivers the seemingly contradictory mix of a petrol-engined, practical, performance-orientated coupé with extraordinary economy and sub-100 g/km CO2 emissions. The New Compact Coupé, unveiled for the first time at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, is capable of delivering economy and performance at the same time thanks to the adoption of a highly efficient 1.4-litre TSI engine developing 150 PS and 177 lbs ft of torque linked to a seven-speed DSG gearbox and an electric motor powered by a lithium ion battery.  The electric motor, which generates 27 PS, can either work independently of the engine to make the New Compact Coupé a Full Hybrid or in tandem to provide a useful boost for overtaking.

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From next year, the Volkswagen Scirocco will be available to order with an efficient new entry-level engine.  From 4 January 2010, it will be possible to order the two-door compact coupé with the 1.4-litre TSI 122 PS engine, with prices starting at £18,860 RRP on the road. The 1.4-litre TSI 122 PS unit develops 147 lbs ft of torque channelled via a six-speed manual gearbox, through the front wheels.  Acceleration from 0 to 62 mph takes 9.7 seconds before reaching a top speed of 124 mph. Thanks in part to the engine’s small capacity, the Scirocco returns a healthy combined economy figure of 44.1 mpg and CO2 emissions of 146 g/km, making it the cleanest petrol model in the range.

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Drawing inspiration from the L1 Concept which made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, Volkswagen has today unveiled the pioneering new Up! Lite concept, a vehicle which sets new standards in economy and efficiency. Packaged in a body with a coefficient of drag measuring just 0.237, the Up! Lite is capable of seating four adults in comfort yet thanks to its hybrid drivetrain it can travel 115.7 miles on a single gallon of fuel while emitting just 65 g/km of CO2. A combination of efficiency gains make these figures possible, but perhaps the most important is a total kerb weight of just 695 kg – that’s almost 30 per cent lighter than Volkswagen’s Fox city car.

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Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has released the first official images and more details of its new pick-up, the Amarok. The Amarok, which will be available as a four-door double cab version from launch with a single cab model to follow in 2011, combines the robustness of a pick-up with innovative technology, high safety standards, excellent fuel economy and Volkswagen standards of comfort, quality and durability. Production of the Amarok is about to start at the Volkswagen factory in Buenos Aires, Argentina ahead of its worldwide launch starting in its native South America in early 2010 and in Europe next summer, with first models expected to be in UK Volkswagen Van Centres in September 2010.

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The new Golf range is extended today with the latest and most practical model: the new Golf Estate.  The car is available to order now ahead of the first models arriving in showrooms on 6 November.  The car itself is more comfortable than ever, with a sharper, sportier look and high levels of standard equipment.  Prices start at £16,380 for the entry-level S 1.2-litre TSI with 105 PS and rise to £22,580 for the range-topping Sportline 2.0-litre TDI 140 PS with DSG gearbox. Taking its key styling cues from the Mk VI Golf hatchback, the Estate has a new front bumper and body coloured rear bumper, fresh new wheel designs and modified tail lights, and inside a new dashboard and revised upholsteries.

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The Frankfurt Motor Show marks the debut of the revolutionary new Volkswagen L1 Concept – a diesel-electric hybrid vehicle constructed from aluminium and carbon fibre weighing just 380 kg and capable of returning 189 mpg on the combined cycle while emitting just 39 g/km of CO2. The L1 can seat two occupants in tandem. They enter through a side-hinging, electrically operated canopy to maximise the aerodynamic efficiency of the L1 Concept.  The result is a remarkable co-efficient of drag figure of just 0.195.

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Volkswagen has unveiled an all-new zero-emissions vehicle – the E-Up! concept. Powered by an electric motor capable of delivering a peak of 81 PS (54 PS constant) and 154 lbs ft of torque channelling drive through the front wheels, the E-Up! can accelerate to 62 mph in 11.3 seconds before reaching a top speed of 84 mph. The E-Up! weighs just 1,085 kg – a remarkable figure given that the lithium-ion batteries powering the vehicle account for 240 kg of this total.

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The most powerful and fastest-accelerating Golf ever produced – the Golf R – has been unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show.  Developed by Volkswagen Individual, the special projects wing of Volkswagen, and following on from the Mk IV and Mk V Golf R32 models, the Golf R is equipped with a 2.0-litre TSI four-cylinder engine developing 270 PS and four-wheel drive. Not only is the new engine 35 kg lighter and 20 PS more powerful than the 3.2-litre V6 found in the outgoing Golf R32, it’s also more efficient.  Economy rises from a combined 26.4 mpg to 33.2 mpg while CO2 emissions fall from 257 g/km to 199 g/km.  Despite the gains in efficiency the Golf R is faster and sharper than ever – the new car can accelerate from rest to 62 mph in just 5.7 seconds.  Equipped with a six-speed DSG gearbox, this figure falls to 5.5 seconds while top speed is limited to 155 mph.

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