Back in beautiful Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen team are working on something really great. It’s all about small but not tiny cars with hybrid powertrains, suited to the future market but still imaginable: not SF-ish. Actually, the first product of all the brainstorming and hard work the Germans are to be admired for is called the New Compact Coupe and debuts today at the Detroit Auto Show. Compact and Coupe, hybrid and sporty. Sounds fabulous, doesn’t it? Full details in the press release (use the button to jump.) Don’t except too much though,  the Volkswagen NCC is still a display concept.

The first thing one should notice and appreciate at the NCC concept is how polished it already is. You could swear it’s already made for production. It’s as big as the Jetta, but lower and with a somewhat smaller wheelbase. Still it’s all really fresh and good looking, like a future vehicle should. In the happy VW family, the (as for now) dubbed NCC will be positioned between the Scirocco, which isn’t for the US sadly, and the jaunty CC. The serial version is likely however to be brought to North America. Fingers crossed to that!

the NCC features Volkswagen’s 1.4-liter TSI inline-four with 148 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. Concerning the hybrid system on this new VK compact coupe beauty, it’s quite similar to some two other concepts showed this year at auto shows: L1 and Up-Lite. 20-kilowatt electric motor is positioned between the engine and the seven-speed DSG dual clutch gearbox. Battery? 1.1 kilowatt-hour lithium ion baby! That’s placed in the back of the car and provides electrical energy storage for electric drive, electric boost and regenerative braking. VW is estimating the NCC’s mileage at 45 miles per gallon based on EPA test procedures with the EU numbers coming in at 56 mpg (U.S.) and 98 g/km of CO2. Real good scored and.. just look at it! (yes, we really are all kinked up on the looks). With top speed of 141 mph it’a a German sedan/compact all the way, and you won’t feel handicapped in any way on the highway. (wow, that rimes)

[ PHOTO GALLERY: VOLKSWAGEN COMPACT COUPE CONCEPT: THE NCC ]:

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