Volkswagen Shrunk The Tiguan, Now Taigun (Jumbo Picture Gallery)

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Volkswagen will roll out its new NFS, MQB, MLB and MSB kit architectures to Brazil, Volkswagen do Brasil chief Thomas Schmall told Automobilwoche [sub]. The first representative will likely be a very small SUV, based on the UP! NFS (New Small Familiy) architecture.

Volkswagen brought a concept car to the São Paulo International Motor Show. Tongue-in-cheek, the 3.86 meter short SUVlet was called Taigun, a jumble of the name of the larger brother Tiguan.

The four-seater is powered by a new 1.0-liter TSI engine with 81 kW / 110 hp. The three-cylinder gasoline engines sports direct fuel injection plus turbocharging, and propels the lightweight (985 kg) concept car to a top speed of 186 km/h. Its combined fuel consumption is said to be 4.5 liters per 100 km.

Don’t expect AWD from the Taigun. “The NFS chassis is not designed for this,” Volkswagen R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg said.

If the SUVlet appeals, then it will be built in Brazil and exported worldwide. Automobilwoche thinks it won’t happen before 2015.




Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Slab Slab on Oct 23, 2012

    Really sharp looking. But if the Tiguan taught us anything, the production model won't look anything like this.

  • Kyree Kyree on Oct 23, 2012

    The guidelines of what is considered an SUV become more and more lenient as the years go by. Pretty soon the SMART ForTwo will be considered one...

  • Safeblonde MSRP and dealer markup are two different things. That price is a fiction.
  • Del Varner Does anyone have a means to bypass the automobile data collection?
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  • 3-On-The-Tree I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 and the only major repair that I have done on it was replace the radiator. Besides usual plugs, wires oil etc. And yes those tires are expensive as well.
  • 28-Cars-Later We had a red 2003 with less than 100 miles in late 2004/5ish and kept it till the end AFAIK. I do recall being told we had about $28,000 in at the time (about $43,6 in 2023 Clown World Bux). I don't ever recall anyone retail even looking at it, and it lived in the showroom/garage."It's an automatic that just had the linkage repaired and upgraded"This really doesn't bode well. Maybe there's a upgrade I'm simply not aware of so one could tune the 3rd Gen LM4 for higher power but messing with it isn't making me smile because now I know its no longer factory or somehow it broke and with such low miles I'm equally concerned.
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