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VW Brazil builds little Gol for little people

VW Brazil shrinks its smallest offering by 30 percent for drivers who are under 5 feet tall.

Antuan Goodwin Reviews Editor / Cars
Antuan Goodwin gained his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. From drivetrain tech and electrification to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.
Expertise Reviewing cars and car technology since 2008 focusing on electrification, driver assistance and infotainment Credentials
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Antuan Goodwin

VW Brazil shrinks its smallest offering by 30% for under 5-foot drivers.
VW Brazil shrinks its smallest offering by 30 percent for drivers who are under 5 feet tall. Autoblog en Espanol

Volkswagen Brazil builds a subcompact car that's smaller than the Golf, smaller even than the Polo. It's called the Gol, and it is the entry-level vehicle for VW's South American offerings. Here is a vehicle that would probably be too small for North American roads, but there exists a buyer for which even the Gol may be too large: little people.

With this in mind, VW Brazil has built the Mini-Gol, a little car for little people. The Mini-Gol has been scaled down by about 30-percent--overall length is down to 7.4 feet from 12.8--to better fit the proportions of a driver who's under 5 feet tall. Inside, the dashboard, instrumentation, and seating all remain intact, albeit with a proportional downsizing to match the scale of the exterior and would-be driver.

At it's best, the standard-sized Gol packs a 1.6-liter Volkswagen High Torque engine that outputs 101 horsepower and 114 pound-feet of torque. However, under the hood of the Mini-Gol lives a 5.5-horsepower engine that motivates the micro-car to a top speed of only about 17mph. Obviously, the Mini-Gol isn't what you'd call highway worthy, then again it's not exactly supposed to be.

VW Brazil has only built two examples of the Mini-Gol. One makes appearances at various car shows, and the other sits on display at Leisure Park Santa Catarina, Brazil.

(Source: Autoblog en Espanol, Auto Motto)