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This is the first official picture of Volkswagen's Concept BlueSport - the cut-price alternative to the mid-engined Porsche Boxster.
VW revealed the two-seater at the Detroit motor show, confirming months of speculation that it was working with its new parent Porsche on a modern version of
the Porsche 914 from the 1960s and 70s.
Back then the 914 was a VW with a Porsche badge. The new mid-engined BlueSport is expected to serve both carmakers, ultimately ending up as an entry-level model for Porsche. Porsche needs such a model to help bring down its overall CO2 rating to meet new European legislation.
VW says the Concept BlueSport combines the agility and pace of a mid-engined roadster, with the fuel-consumption and affordability of a more family-oriented model.
It cites a zero to 100km/h time of 6.2 seconds, a top speed of 230km/h, combined fuel economy of 6.7 litres/100km (42mpg) and supermini CO2 emissions of just 113g/km.
At the heart of the BlueSport are two efficiency-boosting technologies, an automatic stop-start function, similar to the system appearing across the BlueMotion range later this year, and regenerative braking technology.
The BlueSport uses a diesel engine under the bonnet, a turbocharged 2-litre VW family unit, producing 132kW and 350Nm of torque and mated to the six-speed version of the carmaker's double-clutch gearbox.
The car tips the scales at a slimline 1200kg, thanks largely to several weight-saving measures, including the use of a manually operated fabric roof that does away with the need for heavy motors and hydraulics.
It is shorter, lower but almost as wide as the Mark VI Golf.
Despite short overhangs and a mid-mounted engine dictated by its all-new platform, VW insists the two storage areas, one at the front and one in the back, are roomy enough for a pair of weekend bags.
BlueSport continues the design language first seen on the new Scirocco, MkVI Golf and UP! concept. The sleek headlights, narrow radiator grille and prominent badge are unmistakably VW.
At the rear, the LED tail-lights are sculpted to mimic the headlights, giving the car a front-rear symmetry much like the Boxster.
A third brake light is integrated into the boot lid, just above the badge, while the blacked-out diffuser with the twin tailpipes located at its outer-edges help to emphasise the car's width.
But its profile better shows its strengths. Cavernous side vents give away the car's mid-engine layout, while exaggerated wheel-arches filled with 10-spoke 48cm alloys bulge out of the bodywork.
Inside the high-quality cabin a touchscreen interface takes pride of place.
There's also lightweight sports seats clad in VW's trademark ribbed leather, with integrated roll-hoops behind the headrests and heating controls that glow blue or red depending on desired temperature.
VW hasn't confirmed the roadster will make it into production yet. But already analysts in Europe are saying that both 2-litre diesel and petrol versions will be available when the roadster makes it to showrooms in 2010-11.
