Beam me up!, Volkswagen

Aside from the odd naming this new concept offers - as the name suggests - a deceptively ample amount of space despite its petite size, measuring just 3.68 metres long by 1.63 metres wide.

The majority of is storage space is derived from the unique engine layout, as the environmentally friendly gasoline, diesel and electric powertrains of future up! models are located in the rear similar to the Beetle and the Kombi of the past.

Overall, the space up! offers 220 litres of cargo space with up to 1,005 litres available after some clever seating adjustments where all but the driver's seat can be completely removed.

The interior is a fully fledged four-seater which incorporates a bench design into the rear seats with integrated child seats which can convert front adult to child with a few quick adjustments.

Comfort is exceptional through the use of airflow foam in all seats which adapts to individual body sizes, a feature which VW has confirmed will see its way into the production version.

Suicide doors operate much in the same way as the RX8 to maintain 4-door practicality, whilst the rear tailgate is divided in two much like the Mini Clubman.

In the cockpit, an 8-inch monitor displays information such as vehicle speed, fuel level and range as well as momentary CO² emissions. In the middle of the instruments a 7-inch monitor shows how future human machine interfaces might look and operate.

The development of production models based on the space up! concept has already begun.