We have found an example of a nifty Volkswagen that never made it into the United States. This is the Volkswagen Lupo.
Let’s talk details. This was the most fuel-efficient and smallest car in the VW lineup. Smaller than Golf, it was even smaller than the VW Polo. Standard, it had a 1.0 liter inline engine and a whopping 49 horses.
If you’re curious how fuel efficient the base Lupo was, it was just under 80 miles per gallon.
You could opt for a 1.4 liter engine for a little more power, or you could step up and order the GTI Lupo, which came with a 1.6 liter screamer that turned out 123 horsepower.
So what happened? Well, the Lupo came around in the 90’s, at a time that gas was pretty expensive in Europe, but cheap in the states. So Volkswagen never bothered to bring a car with a singular focus to this market. It was discontinued in 2005. Still, it looks like a fun, light car to have some fun with, especially if you can get to Europe and land one of the GTI models.
