e-up! — Volkswagen’s first fully electric mass production car — to launch this year. (Credit: Volkswagen Group)Volkswagen will be participating in this year’s Silvretta E-Car Rally in the Austrian Montafon with an innovative e-up! vehicle, the first electric vehicle from Volkswagen to be produced in high volume. With its Alpine route profile, the rally is both a test of reliability and highly demanding, as the challenge is to recover large amounts of the power used on the long uphill climbs through battery regeneration on the subsequent downhill sections.
With a totally electric drive system the e-up! provides an entry point to a new pioneering Volkswagen vehicle concept and with four seats guarantees scope for full utilization. It is a car for everyday use, with impressively high torque of 210 Nm. Practically silent and with no loss of traction during gearshifts, the e-up! is powered by an electric motor that delivers a maximum output of 60 kW / 82 PS. It thus accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 12.4 seconds and achieves a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph). With its 18.7 kWh lithium-ion battery it has a reach according to NEDC of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles). This means impressively low energy costs of less than $3.6 per 100 kilometers (60 miles).
The e-up! can be charged with 2.3 kW plugged into any standard 230V socket, with 3.6 kW via a home-installed wall box or with up to 40 kW plugged into a DC fast-charging station via the optional CSS (combined charging system). In the latter case, the battery is 80 per cent charged in under 30 minutes. The power connection point for charging the battery is concealed as usual under the fuel cap. In the ideal scenario the e-up! will be charged using electricity from regenerative sources and will then be running 100% CO2 neutral.
The e-up! differentiates itself from the basic up! model through a high-quality, aerodynamically optimized design. One striking identifying feature externally is the curved arrangement of the LED daytime running lights in the bumper. The front section, sills and underbody have also been aerodynamically enhanced. Burnished 15-inch alloy wheels with low rolling resistance tires.
The entry-level price of the e-up! in Germany as an already well-equipped base model inclusive of battery is $32,500. This autumn at the IAA (International Motor Show) in Frankfurt, Volkswagen will announce further details on how the vehicle is to be marketed.
