Volkswagen working on an affordable roadster and coupe

Volkswagen has reportedly resurrected plans to build an affordable, mid-engine coupe and roadster to help it reach its target of selling more than 5 million cars by 2018. According to Volkswagen CEO, Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen will have a concept version ready by the LA Auto Show in November.

Winterkorn said that if the reaction to the concept is positive, the car could hit showrooms as early as 2011.

“It is the fifth time in as many years that we have created such a car but this time, more than any other, the signs are looking good that we will get a production green light,” a senior source at Volkswagen told AutoCar .

Power is expected to come from a 1.4L TSI 4-cylinder engine producing 168-hp and a new 1.6L TDI diesel engine producing 125-hp while returning a fuel-economy of 52mpg. Both will be mated to a rear-wheel-drive architecture and a 7-speed DSG gearbox. 0-62mph is expected to come in about 7 seconds.

The unnamed car is expected to be built on an aluminium spaceframe form Audi, which AutoCar says could bring about the R4. Rumors of the Audi R4 have been killed by execs numerous times but with this Volkswagen model, Audi could also see a version with 4-cylinder engines producing up to 211-hp.

Note : Pictured above is the Volkswagen Concept R from 2003.

Source: AutoCar