Confirmed: up! gets green light; engine layout revised

It's now official: Volkswagen will produce the up! The news came when Volkswagen confirmed rumors that the up!'s rear-wheel drive layout had indeed been changed to a front-wheel drive layout, citing cost and cabin space as issues with the old RWD layout. The switch to the new FWD layout will set back Volkswagen's launch of the up! by about 5 months bringing the original 2010 launch back to sometime in 2011. The up! is expected to be offered in three different body styles (hatchback, minivan, and sedan), and is expected to be offered in Europe and emerging markets.

No announcement has been made as to whether the up! will be offered in North America.

Source: Autoblog