Though VW resurrected the Beetle in the 90s albeit a front wheel drive one, it was quite successful in turning a people’s car into a premium chick car. VW has now tried to correct the female sex bias when repositioning/restyling the car.
But in my mind, the FWD Beetle is not the real Beetle. There can’t be a Beetle without a rear engine. Just like there can’t be a Porsche 911 without a flat-six rear engine.
 |
| The VW Up! range |
So imagine my pleasant surprise when Volkswagen introduced the rear-engined Up! In my view, this was the real successor to the Beetle. Never mind its upright shape and lack of homage to the original.
 |
| Up! – The spiritual successor to the Beetle |
VW also jumped on the bandwagon by getting an electric version of the Up!. The e-Up! seemed to be a viable proposition with a top speed of 84mph and a range of 80 miles. But it seems like VW lost courage and lost the momentum to the Nissan Leaf. So that was the first disappointment when VW gave us a fossil-fueled version instead. And to top it off, it gave us a front-engined model too. I thought VW would have the chops to bring out a rear engined model.
 |
| The e-Up! |
Alas, the bean counters decreed that the car should be based on the MQB platform. VW should have taken inspiration from TATA’s Nano which had the gumption to make a rear-engined model. If fact we could very well call the Nano as the New Beetle!
Though I am sure Martin Winterkorn is not going to be too happy with my suggestion that the Nano pirate the legacy of the original Beetle.
