VW to Boost image with building mid-engined Coupe and Roadster

Volkswagen has resurrected plans for an affordable, mid-engine coupe and roadster tandem as part of an image-building campaign aimed at highlighting the company’s design and engineering prowess.  VW chairman Martin Winterkorn is planning to unveil a concept version of the lightweight two-seater at the Los Angeles show in November. If public opinion is positive, the new car could be in showrooms by 2011. It’s been styled under Walter de’ Silva and borrows from VW’s vast parts bin to keep development costs low.

“We are working on a mid-engined concept for the Los Angeles motor show,” a source revealed to AutoWeek at VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters. “It is the fifth time in as many years that we have created such a car, but this time, more than any other, the signs are looking good that we will get a production green light.”

The new roadster is described as a cut-rate Lotus Elise, designed to be stylish and lightweight while offering genuine sporty performance in combination with class-leading fuel economy. Among the four-cylinders said to be under consideration for the new car is a 170-hp, 1.4-liter Twincharger TSI gasoline engine and a new 125-hp, 1.6-liter TDI common-rail diesel powerplant, both transferring drive through a seven-speed, double-shift gearbox.

This hints at a sub-2,200-pound car serving up Golf GTI levels of acceleration–0 to 62 mph in 6.9 seconds–and the sort of economy offered by the Polo 1.4 TDI BlueMotion.

Unlike its hot hatch and frugal super-mini siblings, the new coupe and roadster are based on a mid-engine layout with rear-wheel drive. To keep weight down and performance strong, VW is said to have tapped Audi for expertise in aluminum-spaceframe construction.

This link is driving rumors of a possible Audi version of the new coupe and roadster, a so-called R4. This car, which has been rumored for almost two years despite official denials out of Ingolstadt, is described as a cut-priced R8 and likely would run more powerful four-cylinder engines than the VW derivative, with Audi’s new EA888-based 211-hp, 2.0-liter TFSI gasoline engine and an upcoming 204-hp, twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter TDI common-rail diesel highly likely.

In another development, VW majority shareholder Porsche is said to have shown interest in the new project, opening the way for a possible resurrection of the 914.

VW first hinted at plans for a mid-engine coupe and roadster with the Peter Schreyer-designed Concept R back at the Frankfurt motor show in 2003. It was followed up by the spartan Eco Racer (an R&D exercise rather than a full-fledged design concept) wheeled out at the Tokyo show in 2005.

Two other concepts have been created but were never revealed to the public, according to AutoWeek sources, who suggest that the production version of the car to be shown at the Los Angeles show could be assembled in Germany by longtime VW partner Karmann.

source: Autoweek