[atl]

Looking to take on the Lotus Elise and Opel Speedster, VW is said to be developing a $20,000 lightweight 2-seat rear-drive roadster for the 2005 model year. A concept could be shown as early as this year's Tokyo Motor Show. Although it is envisioned as a low-cost 2-seater, there's plenty of exotic material on hand to keep the weight down. The car will be made of aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber in order to meet a target cub weight of less than 1600lb. In addition, it will have the barest of creature comforts, no power assist for the steering or features like power windows or seats. The car will be equipped with a 2.0-liter inline-4 producing 150 bhp. which is said to be good for 0-60-mph times in the 6 sec. range.---MDL

 

[Kazbaeden]

Wow, that's a pretty amazing task... but no power steernig? Holy cow, I remember the last time I drove a car without power steering. Now that was a workout.

 

[dinu01]

Kinda like a Miata, just better.

 

[atl]

Wow, that's a pretty amazing task... but no power steernig? Holy cow, I remember the last time I drove a car without power steering. Now that was a workout.

Tell me about it. I drove a friends Honda CRX. That was a workout.

 

[Kazbaeden]

Often I have to drive the lawnmower to cut the grass, which of course lacks power steering. So after three hours of not using it, when I get in a car with power steering, I find myself over steering and taking a moment to get used to the ease.

This thread has been talking about the VW roadster...

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=858397

 

[Kazbaeden]

I just read this little tid bit:

To trim curb weight further the VW roadster will use a simple manual fabric roof.

My boss has an old Mercedes convertible with a manual top. For the life of us, we couldn't get it up, so we turned to the manual only to find a three page procedure for raising and lowering the top. It involved special tools, cranking nuts, buttons, prongs, and a whole lot of hassle.

 

[atl]

It looks like this.