2001 Volkswagen Jetta Gls Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Who wants to pay a million dollars for a VW Beetle?

The Volkswagen Beetle was always envisioned as a cheap mode of transportation, but now one is being offered for over $1 million by a dealer in the company's home base of Wolfsburg, Germany. So just what makes this Beetle so special? It's not the first one made, and it's not the last one made – but it comes close: This particular example is an Ultima Edicion – one of the final Bugs made in Mexico before production ended even there in 2003. It's decked out in beige with a black fabric interior and none – repeat, none – of the bells and whistles. With less than 75 miles on the odometer, it offers one wealthy buyer the rare opportunity to get an original Beetle (not some modernized incarnation thereof) in factory-fresh condition, which no one has been able to do for over a dozen years now. Does that make it worth the million-euro ($1.1M) asking price? Not if you ask us, no. But then we wouldn't count ourselves among the most dedicated Beetle fanatics out there.

How VW's hyper-efficient XL1 will influence the next Golf

In 2007, the European Union mandated fleet average CO2 emissions of 158.7 g/km. For 2015, that figure will drop to 130 g/km, and the target for 2020 is an ambitions 95 g/km. Thanks to some German politicking, that target will be phased in from 2020 to 2024, but it will still apply to 80 percent of passenger cars in that first year. In US miles per gallon, that's the equivalent of going from about 35 mpg to 42 mpg to 57 mpg. The current Volkswagen Golf is rated from 85 g/km of CO2 to 190 g/km depending on model - and zero for the e-Golf, so for the next-generation MkVIII hatch due in 2019, to meet the goal, Volkswagen engineers will need to introduce a bunch of new tricks. According to a report in Autocar, VW be mining its hyper-efficient XL1 for some of them.
Predictions for the next Golf include a variable-compression engine, an electric flywheel and an electric turbo, along with taking greater advantage of coasting. Volkswagen could be getting help from Audi with the electric turbo and variable-compression engine and electric turbo, with Audi already having shown off the former and brand technical boss Ulrich Hackenberg confirming the VW Group is working on the latter. It's possible the flywheel system could also have the mark of The Four Rings: Autocar mentions a British system that Volvo is testing, but the R18 e-tron Quattro racer has been using one for years.
The need for such features is because the company won't be able to net enough future gains from just aerodynamic improvements and advanced materials. As price will be a factor (the regulations are expected to "add hundreds of euros to the cost of building a car"), adding much more aluminum or carbon fiber is an unlikely option. We're told the next generation won't be longer or wider than the current car, and being Europe's most popular model, VW doesn't want to make a big bet on futuristic aero, but the report says the MkVIII will "likely" have "the most aerodynamic treatment yet seen on a production vehicle," the area where lessons learned from the XL1 will truly be seen.

Volkswagen tipped to launch turbocharged Up! with 100 hp

Overseas customers enticed by the compact dimensions of the Volkswagen Up! but turned off by its diminutive 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine may be encouraged by reports that the German automaker is planning a more potent turbo version. Previewed by the GT Up! concept showcased at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show (pictured above), the more performance-oriented model is expected to pack the turbo three from the larger Polo, where it produces 100 horsepower channeled through a five-speed manual transmission. That may not seem like much, but it would put the existing 59- and 74-horsepower versions of the German city car to shame. That might not give it enough punch to keep pace with the upcoming Smart Fortwo Brabus (and its Renaultsport Twingo counterpart), tipped to pack as much as 130 hp, but it could stand to out-perform the existing 89-hp turbo models of both. Given that the reports are emanating from Brazil, however, it is possible that the Up! Turbo (or whatever it's ultimately called) would be limited to the South American market, if it's built at all. One thing's for sure, though: it's not likely to make it to North American showrooms anytime soon.