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VW unveils gas sipping pocket rocket. When will it come to the US?

Volkswagen jumped into the "variable displacement" game yesterday when it unveiled it's Polo BlueGT at the Geneva Auto Show. The Polo BlueGT is powered by a 4 cylinder 1.4 liter turbo engine with "ACT" variable displacement technology. It produces 140 hp, claims a top speed of 131 mph, zero to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and averages 50 mpg. Sweet! Check out an excerpt from VW's official press release below.

Variable displacement engines aren't new. Technological descendants of single cylinder "hit-and-miss" engines manufactured by various companies from the late 1800's through the 1930's, variable displacement multi-cylinder engines were experimented with during WWII. In the early 1980's GM and Mitsubishi both produced variable displacement engines, but quickly dropped the technology due to unreliability and lack of buyer interest. Fast forward to the late 1990's, when Mercedes experimented with a multi displacement V12, followed by successful deployments of multi-displacement engines by DaimlerChrysler, GM and Honda starting in the mid 2000's. 

Volkswagen's 1.4 liter TSI engine is the first small engine (fewer than 6 cylinders) to use variable displacement technology. It's slated for release in Europe in July, and if reliable it could be a game changer, especially in the US.

But will it come here? The Polo has long been noticeably absent from US showrooms, where it would compete with Toyota's Yaris, Ford Fiesta, BMW Mini. Seems like a no brainer VW, bring it on!

Excerpt from VW's Press release:

 

03.06.2012

FUEL-EFFICIENT POLO BLUE GT MAKES ITS DEBUT AT THE GENEVA AUTO SHOW 

Volkswagen introduces cylinder deactivation on its sporty new hatchback

Wolfsburg / Geneva -  The new Polo BlueGT stands out because it combines great performance with excellent fuel-efficiency. The technical highlight of this new vehicle is cylinder deactivation management (ACT), which is being introduced for the first time in a Volkswagen. The new 1.4-liter TSI engine is torquey and makes 140 horsepower, yet also achieves an estimated EU combined fuel economy figure of 50 mpg (equivalent to 108 g/km CO2). Mileage is improved even further to 52 mpg (105g/km CO2) if the Polo BlueGT is ordered with the optional seven-speed DSG® dual-clutch transmission, which is amazing considering the car isn’t a diesel.

 

Yet the Polo BlueGT has a top speed of 131 mph and accelerates from zero to 62 mph in just 7.9 seconds. This unusual balance between efficiency and performance is enabled by the systematic interplay of ACT, direct injection, turbocharging, and BlueMotion Technology (a stop/start system, and battery regeneration). The Polo BlueGT bridges the gap between the 105-hp Polo 1.2 TSI and the 180-hp Polo GTI and will go on sale in July.

Find the full press release here: http://bit.ly/wn8RkS