So what does the future of motoring look like? For an industry that has seen its fair share of shambles in recent times, not to mention a few false dawns, you’d be permitted to raise an eyebrow when a manufacturer boasts that a new vehicle is “the future”. However, in the VW Concept BlueSport roadster, the company’s chairman Martin Winkerhorn may just have a point.
In an effort to prove to American audiences that diesels are cool, Volkswagen has produced a mid-engine sports car that is capable of 42mpg and emits carbon dioxide emissions at such a low rate that its figures are comparable to the Toyota Prius.
The BlueSport, to which Winkerhorn proudly boasted “the future of Volkswagen belongs to cars like this” as he unveiled the vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show, uses three technologies that will help to make the auto industry cleaner and more efficient: turbo-charging, automatic stop-start technology and regenerative braking.
Indeed the BlueSport comes as a result of years of practise from Volkswagen, which first unveiled a two-seat mid-engine sports car back in 2003 with its Concept R. It followed that up two years later at the Tokyo Auto Show with the EcoRacer. The BlueSport is certainly the most complete concept of the bunch with an engine that produces 177 horsepower, the ability to race from 0-60mph in just 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 140mph.
You might however, think that this is just another fit of fancy from Volkswagen and that it’s unlikely to ever see the light of day. However, Volkswagen believes it may hit showrooms as early as 2011.
