(Thu 03 Dec 09)

The latest in Volkswagen's line of Up! concepts has gone on display at the Los Angeles Show. The little four-seater is nearly as long as a Polo but weighs 30% less than the Fox city car and has a hybrid system consisting of a 50bhp 800cc two-cylinder diesel engine and a 14bhp electric motor which can either boost performance during overtaking or take over from the engine entirely in slow running.

The engine is mated to a seven-speed DSG transmission and has a start/stop function which helps give the Up! Lite a remarkable combined fuel economy figure of 115.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 65g/km.

The Up! Lite is being described as "a step towards a viable production car", so it's not going to go on sale in its current form, but it does use several components from the Small Family series of vehicle which Volkswagen will start launcing in 2011.

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