The VW BlueSport actually just needed some minor tweaks from its form as a concept vehicle before it hit the production line and it is perfectly an excellent base for a rear wheel drive, open top version for potential buyers. This was the story coming from the top engineer of Volkswagen during an interview.

Audi has declared that a smaller two-seater should be added to its range as the R4 while Porsche is still figuring out if making a baby version of their Boxster will hurt their sales.

For Volkswagen fans though comes a bad news as the company decided to put on hold the production of the BlueSport Roadster because of the forecast that it might not sell enough to make the vehicle viable. The issue here is not with the design nor the technology but the volume of sales that is needed to be met so production makes sense.

In order to green light from the headquarters of the big bosses of VW, the BlueSport Roadster must at least be delivered to 50,000 garages every year. The sales team of VW does not see the car to be a big hit in the US which is the biggest roadster market in the world, so the project is on hold.

Even though the car manufacturer wants to increase its sales by as much as 300%, the company realizes though that releasing a niche product is not among their top priority at the moment. The focus will be on the core models of the VW lineup and not the portfolio models like the VW BlueSport Roadster.

For their British market, Volkswagen will provide two petrol engine options including a 1.2L TSI which gives out 105 horsepower and the 1.4L TSI that is capable of giving out 160 HP. The former is coupled with a DSG transmission with seven speeds while the latter is linked with a 6-speed manual transmission.

There will be 3 trim levels to choose from: Design, Beetle, and Sport. The Beetle and the Design trim that uses the 1.2L engine will have a tag price of £16,490 while the Sport or Design trim using the 1.4L powerplant will be priced at £19,470.

The Beetle based model will have an air conditioning, central locking with remote, DAB radio and CD system, plus the Isofix seats as standard.

The Design variant will have 17 inch rims, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity, alarm system, fog lights in front, RCD 510 sound setup, multifunction steering wheel with leather treatment, and dashboard and door panels following the color of the car’s body.

The top of the line Sport trim will have 18 inch rims, tint, sports seats, cruise control, parking sensors, climate control, and gloss black treatment for the door panel, dashboard, and door mirrors.

VW promises to enhance the range of the Beetle in the UK market with the introduction of more powerplants which will include the 105 HP diesel 1.6L TDI BlueMotion; 140 HP 2.0L petrol TSI engine; and the 1.2L TSI engine that is linked with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

With the VW’s Temporary Automated Pilot (TAP) system, a car model is able to run smoothly using all of its safety systems that have been activated. The TAP system can run the car without any involvement of the person driving. Press releases say that this VW technology can accelerate the car for up to 80 mph or 130 km/h. The TAP system steers, brakes, and accelerates automatically while still complying with speed limitations. Moreover, it won’t let you overtake if you will are coming thru the right side but in several cases, the driver can still overtake on the right side if the situation calls for it.

The German carmaker along with HAVEit (Highly Automated Vehicle for Intelligent Transport), have recently shown a short video about the new TAP system equipped in a Volkswagen Passat model. The video has gone viral and has made a good effort in demonstrating the new VW feature to its patrons. But of course, it’s still a matter of personal choice if you want to hand over the car controls to an automated system, which is probably a good idea for those who do their makeup on the road. Anyway, regardless of personal preferences, the new VW TAP system is another pat on the back for the car industry’s technology.

Watch the VW TAP video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The VW Golf VI Cabriolet will be marketed in three trims: GT, SE, and S. The standard Golf VI Cabriolet will have a Bluetooth feature and other goodies to spice up the ride and will be rolling on 16” alloy wheels. The SE variant will have the features of the S trim but will have additional features like cruise control, two-zone climate control, automatic lights, and parking sensors. The high end GT version will feature sports suspension, 18 inch alloy rims, and Alcantara upholstery.

Buyers will have three options for the engine of the Volkswagen Golf VI Cabriolet. There will be a 12 liter TSI that gives out 105 PS, 1.4 liter TSI that produces 160 PS, and the 1.6L TDI outputting 105 PS. Later this year, Volkswagen will introduce other petrol engine variants and two diesel powerplants for the Golf VI Cabriolet. Automatic DSG transmission and BlueMotion technology will also be implemented.

The Golf VI Cabriolet comes with the usual VW safety features like the ABS, standard airbags for the front and side, ESP, and and an active system for rollover protection. The softop of the car can be closed or opened while cruising at around 19 mph or 30 kph.

Volkswagen gives us some appetizer through early images of the car which features a redesigned front end and tail. They also have a teaser of the car’s interior.

The new Eos will get a new set of LED headlights, new grilled, and a new bumper with diffuser for the rear.

The panel features multifunction instruments with color display, keyless ignition system, automatic headlamps, and 2^nd generation parking assist.  The keyless system gives consumers a remote control to open and close the roof of the Eos. The new headlamps also come with an assist technology that adjusts the light from dipped to the main beam or back depending on the traffic conditions.

At present, the Eos uses a 200 horsepower, 4 cylinder, direct injected 2.0L  powerplant for its release in the U.S. The 2011 Eos has a sticker price of $33,710 that includes shipping. We don’t expect a lot of changes with the figures for this updated VW convertible.

Early info has the 2012 Eos for the European market at $39,929 with different engine options for both diesel and gasoline.

Russians like their American counterparts have preferred the notchbacks instead of the hatchbacks despite the obvious functional advantage.

VW fits the Russian version of the Polo sedan with a 1.6L 103 horsepower engine that is coupled with either a 6-speed automatic gearbox or 5-speed manual transmission.

The new Volkswagen Polo will be offered in the US either as the same variant or with the 1.2L TSI four-cylinder turbocharged powerplant.

The Russian version of the VW Polo was tested over a long-period of time to make sure that it will be able to satisfy owners who will have to deal with the different street conditions and climate of Russia. Aside from the standard safety elements, the car’s body is also made from non-corrosive galvanized metal and a suspensions system prepped up for bad roads.

VW already did accept advanced sales prior to the launch but the VW sedan was officially uncovered before an audience of 200 high profile guests in Moscow.

The new vehicle adds to the bestsellers of VW in Russia like the Jetta and the Passat.

The sticker price on the polo starts at a little more than 10,000 Euros.

The Hybrid variant of the VW Touareg can breeze on the road at 50 km/hr on a pure electric drive with zero emission. One of the diesel variants, the V6 TD that has a 7.6L now has the best numbers for its segment of the market in Europe.

Despite the shedding of pounds, the 2011 Touareg has better torsional rigidity by 5%. The aerodynamics of the car was improved too with this version being lower than its older sibling among other elements added to its design.

All of the variants are available with 8-speed automatic transmission which returns better number at more than 2 liters per 100 kilometers. The Touareg is being offered with the 4Motion variant which can handle climbing 31 degrees and another variant which has the Off-road program that activates everything needed to handle more challenging inclines and descents.

Aside from the engine and exterior improvements, the designers of Volkswagen also transformed the interior to become more functional and versatile. They gave it the biggest sunroof in the market and Area View which uses four cameras to monitor the surroundings. Safety has been beef up by the cameras together with the nine airbags in the car.

Volkswagen is expecting a great market response for the 2011 Touareg basing it on the performance of its first generation SUV which easily sold 500,000 units and was a great competitor for alternatives from BMW and Audi.

Toyota is not really that far beyond. The Japanese carmaker’s figures are also very significant but their 4 million vehicles since January is not fit to defend their position against Volkswagen.

The survey was released by the IHS Global Insight. They see that the laws being implemented by the governments of Germany, the United Kingdom, and China are reflected on the performance of the German automaker.

The group further explains that the call of Toyota to cut their production by as much as 50% during the first quarter of 2009 has affected their position in the market and helped how VW faired. Toyota’s output plan is just to produce 7.24 million units until the end of the year compared to their production in 2008 reaching 9.24 million vehicles.

Last year, it was Toyota that stole the reigns from American company General Motors. GM held the title for 80 years.

In another story, Qatar Holding which is the investment arm of the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar sold 50% of their in Volkswagen. The investment firm quickly added $2.4 billion in their financial columns.

The 2010 Golf R is a hot-hatch that will sport the same engine used by the Scirocco R. The new Golf R can output 265 horsepower and about 258 lb-ft of torque. Looking at the figures, the 2010 Golf R has the most powerful engine in the production of the Golf range.

The R32 successor can speed up from 0 to 62 mph in just 5.5 seconds when packaged with the DSG dual-clutch system. The manual transmission version is just a blink away doing it 0.2 second slower.

The 2010 Golf R is a big stride ahead of the R32 in terms of fuel efficiency. It is 21% better or about 27.7mpg combined on highway and city driving than the older generation Golf. The new baby of the VW garage also gets LED tail lights and daytime lights.

The styling of the new Golf R is very similar to the lines of the R32, attractive alloy rims, aggressive stance, and hunch of Mark VI Golf with the design formula.

The Golf R may not be sporting the powerful engine of the R32 but it will carry the more efficient 2.0L turbo engine that has a lot of room for tuning. The 2010 Golf R will be on sale in Germany before the year ends and it will be heading to U.S. shores by 2010.

To start off, JE Design gave the 2.0L TDI engine an additional 40HP, raising it to 180HP with 295lb-ft of torque. From the previous figure of 128mph, the new diesel engine now accelerates at 132mph. Still, it may not be your preferred speed demon; however, the additional power and torque raise the Scirocco’s road performance level to satisfactory.

The more powerful 2.0 TDI GT engine gets a maximum power of 205HP and 302lb-ft of torque, accelerating at 0-62mph in 7.1 seconds. The revamped 2.0 TDI GT engine now matches Audi’s A3 2.0T S-line engine.

Of course, JE Design didn’t stop there. Along with new engines, a newly remodeled body kit, which is made of CNC and ABS plastic, gave the Volkswagen Scirocco a complete makeover. It also comes with optional gullwings.

In Europe, customers can get the new Scirocco model starting from the 180HP starter pack at €1,249, the 205HP at €1,449, and the pumped up body kit for another €919. New exhaust and lowered springs comes at €899 and €299 respectively. That’s roughly €6,300. For those want more, the 19x8in wheels can be added for another €2,810.