Volkswagen Space Up unveiled

By Jonny Smith

First Official Pictures

25 October 2007 04:40

Mmm, this looks ever so slightly similar to the Up! Concept at Frankfurt...

And you wouldn't be wrong. VW chose the Tokyo show to tug the sheets off its new vehicle just six weeks after showing the world the Up! Concept– a two-door cheeky urban device – to the sweaty media at Frankfurt. When the Up! range is finally built at the end of the decade, the Space Up! could be a perfect Japanese K-car congestion buster, which would help VW remain the top imported brand in Japan.

Exactly what it says on the tin. Space. It is a four-door longer wheelbase version of the Up! - 230mm longer, 40mm higher and with a huge wheelbase of 2560mm. VW says it's 150mm shorter than its comparatively dull Fox, making it easily their most compact car.

By Jonny Smith