Volkswagen has revealed the first details of the production version of the ‘Up!’ concept, which had its premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007.

While the three-door hatchback model’s looks are very similar to the original Up! Concept car, under the sheetmetal it’s a different story as Volkswagen has ditched the concept’s unique rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Instead, the Volkswagen Up! is based on the German firm’s Modularer Querbaukasten, or MQB, platform using a more traditional front-engine, front-wheel drive setup.

The Up! measures 3.54 meters in length and 1.64 meters in height and offers space for four passengers. The Volkswagen Up! is powered by a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder engine, available in two versions, with outputs of 44 kW and 55 kW. VW is offering the Up! with BlueMotion Technology, including a Stop/Start system and says the engines are capable of returning fuel economy of 4.2 L/100 km and 4.3 L/100 km respectively. Volkswagen says that the new !Up emits less than 100 g/km of CO2. A pure-electric version into the mix at a later date.

The world debut of the Volkswagen Up! will take place at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, with the new model hitting showrooms across Europe from December.