We don't get the Volkswagen up! and that's a shame, because it looks like a fun little car. And it's also unfair, because the world seems like it has plenty of up! variants in the form of clones sold at Skoda and SEAT dealers. Now Audi's going to get that up! action.
While it was rumored even before the VW version was unveiled in 2011 that it would spawn an Audi variant, Audi's CEO Rupert Stadler said in an interview for the German publication Manager Magazin – reported on by Reuters, which also said the company would halve its profit margin in 2015 because of big investments – that the Audi up! is coming in the second half of the decade along with more Qs that we already knew about. The Q6 and Q8, derivatives of the Q5 and Q7 respectively, will be joined by what's probably going to be an A4-based compact van.
Everyone's doing these weird crossovers and high-roof hatchback things, but it's interesting that Audi thinks it needs to go below the A1 (a Mini rival) and make effectively a posh city car. There's no word on how different from the VW, Skoda and SEAT the Audi up! will be, but it's hard to see a lot of room for change. Even among the three that exist now, there's little difference other than grilles and prices.
Still, don't expect the Audi up! to come to the U.S. when it goes on sale probably everywhere else in the next few years. And if for some strange reason it's the only up! we end up getting, well, maybe we won't complain too much.
Photo: VW