Flashback: 2005 VW Ragster concept
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Last week, we brought you some Brenda Priddy-commissioned renderings of what the 2012 Volkswagen New Beetle might look like, based on styling cues shown on recent VW concept cars and inside info Brenda Priddy & Co. has picked up along the way. By far the most interesting (to us, at least) was the Speedster rendering, which suggests a (presumably) low-priced sports car for everyman; a Boxster for those of us without the budget, so to speak. It certainly looked good (what fantasy rendering doesn't, after all?), and you don't have to go too far back in history to see that the VW people have been kicking around a speedster-ish design idea for a while. In 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen introduced the Ragster concept. Essentially, it was a New Beetle Speedster that used fixed side roof rails (sort of like the Citroen C3 Pluriel), between which a sliding soft top rolled fore and aft. The windshield was shortened, giving the whole car a slick chopped-top look, further accentuated by twin racing stripes and big 19" wheels. It was (and remains) one of the cooler VW concepts of recent years, particularly because it seems so eminently doable. With the rumor that a Speedster is under consideration for the next New Beetle refresh, we couldn't help but think of the Ragster and wonder if the idea just hasn't stopped nagging at somebody in the VW nerve center for the last few years.
[Source: VW]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
howard 2:16PM (12/24/2007)
To; Alex Nunez; Hey! if you want to FLASH BACK about solid side rails and a sliding cloth top that rolls and unrolls you need to retreat back to the 1950-51 NASH Rambler! I assume the Citroen C3 Pluriel copied it from NASH also! Isn't that what "DESIGNING" automobiles is all about? Who can copy the other guys idea and put their name on it? The Japanese are the worlds best copiers, they never had an original idea in their lives! Just look at all their WWII aircraft, 98% copied from American or British! The 2% were their attempts to build their own but they killed to many of their test pilots so, they went on coping from others! Cars the same way but i'll give them credit here, they take an idea and improve it but, it's still a copy!
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500 6:12PM (12/24/2007)
True maybe, but what the heck do the Japanese have to do with the VW Ragster, New Beetle or the Citroen C3 Pluriel?
Bryant 3:43PM (12/24/2007)
looks like a beetle with a GT-R top
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Daniel Cowan 3:49PM (12/24/2007)
If they wanted to be all sporty with that, the blue green one would have VW calling a hit. It reminds me of Nissan's 350 Z as far as the styling with the metal around the headrests. VW could use this for the next new beetle, in some way that doesn't end getting butchered by high costs and performance issues. We shall surely wait and see, won't we?
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Alex 12:21AM (12/25/2007)
that car looks like crap. the dimensions are all off.
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cowboy bob 11:31AM (12/25/2007)
The little girls will love it. Does it come in pink? Women really dig the current model, judging from the fact that I never see a man behind the wheel of one.
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