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But the Concept BlueSport still lives and is capable of taking on the mighty Mazda MX-5 if a full-scale production plan gets the go- ahead from Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The gorgeous little BlueSport roadster was rolled out to test its potential at this year's Detroit motor show, but since then the mid- engined sporty has been off the radar. Until now.
Volkswagen executives are now saying the Concept BlueSport could become a reality despite the global downturn short-circuiting many short-term development plans for many car companies.
VW's global production communications chief Christian Haacke admits the almost-production-ready MX-5 fighter remains a challenge in the current global market but it could still become a reality.
"The first challenge is to come up with a plan how to build the volumes required to earn money from such a car," Haacke says. "The second challenge is to finish it and, as you can imagine in the current environment, this presents a problem."
But Haacke believes the concept would be a perfect fit in the growing VW portfolio, which spans everything from budget Skodas up to luxury Lamborghinis. "With our nine brands we are in an excellent zone to help build a car like this. The idea of a small two-seater has been around VW for a long time," says.
Haacke says if the Concept BlueSport gets the green light there are plenty of engine options to fit to the compact sports car, from the new 1.2-litre TSI in the latest Polo to larger 2.0-litre TSI and TDI engines. "Of course we have plenty of engines available," he says.
If the Concept Blue becomes a reality, the car will be built using a similar strategy to that adopted by Fiat with the X1/9 and Toyota with its MR2, taking existing off-the-shelf engines and mechanical pieces before fitting them in purpose-built bodies.
VW will not admit it publicly, but it has looked on with envy at the global success of the MX-5 and thinks it could replicate or better that success with a similarly sized VW-badged sports car that could give the Porsche Boxster and Audi TT a run for their money.
Based on the MX-5 experience, this could mean a mid-engined VW sports car could sell for between $40,000 and $65,000, depending on engine and specifications.
The Concept BlueSport is 4000mm long but tips the scales at less than 1200kg. The show car has a 2.0-litre TDI diesel sitting mid-ships that develops 134kW at 4200 revs and 350Nm from just 1750 revs, through VW's new seven-speed DSG gearbox. This gives the car a zero-to-100km/h sprint time of 6.6 seconds and top speed of 226km/h.
However, apart from outright performance, what makes the BlueSport different is that it averages 4.3 litres/100km yet emits just 113g/km of harmful CO2 emissions.
The show car is no lightweight toy, either, with massive 235x35ZR19 tyres up front and 245x35ZR19s at the rear, bi-xenon LED headlights, touchscreen controls and an easy-to-use soft-top roof that could be removed in seconds. Its leather-clad seats are made from light-weight materials and have single-piece backrests.
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