Giugiaro presents the future of Volkswagen (photos)
Volkswagen gained a very strong design arm when it acquired Italdesign Giugiaro, a company responsible for recent innovations in glass roofs and hard-top convertibles. To present its idea of the future of Volkswagen design, Giugiaro showed off two concepts, the Go and the Tex.
Designer Giorgetto Giugiaro traces the roots of the Go back to a 1976 taxi cab concept. The car is meant to maximize interior space, which Giugiaro says is greater than that of a large SUV, while maintaining the compact dimensions of an urban car. The Go is a little over 13 feet long, making it easy to park.
The four seats in the Go are identical, and all feature power adjustment. Only the lower portions of the windows roll down, which Giugiaro says is adequate for practical needs such as paying tolls, and allows for greater flexibility in door design, as only a small portion has to accommodate the window mechanism.
Giugiaro envisions the Go as an electric car, using a front-mounted 85-kilowatt motor. With lithium ion battery packs under front and rear seats, the Go has a range of 150 miles.
Reminiscent of the Sirocco, Giugiaro suggests the Tex represents the look of Volkswagen sport cars going forward. The name Tex comes from the European comic book character Tex Willer. The narrow headlight and grille opening shown on the Tex is similar to that on the new Jetta.
Tex is designated as a hybrid vehicle, using a combination of turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine and an 85-kilowatt electric motor. This hybrid configuration gives the Tex an electric range of more than 20 miles. The Tex can also hit 62 mph in about 6 seconds.
Both concepts show Italdesign's current penchant for fixing solid objects to glass, as with the Tex's rear spoiler. The spoiler serves to hide the rear windshield wiper and house the rearview camera.
Although the Tex uses LCDs for all instrument displays, Giugiaro wanted to evoke a classic sport car interior, so used graphics of traditional analog gauges for the speedo and tach. Leather seating also evokes the sport car look. Giugiaro's signature glass roof lets light into the cabin.
