After the standard-wheelbase Tiguan and seven-seat Tiguan Allspace, the compact crossover manufactured and sold by Volkswagen all across the world will tread down the plug-in hybrid path. Captured by the carparazzi with little to no camouflage, the China-exclusive L 430 PHEV will then be joined by the Coupe.
This is not the first time the Tiguan Coupe came into focus by way of the rumor mill, with Automobile-Magazine.fr making expecting the newcomer to be presented in the second half of 2018 for the 2019 model year. But the truth of the matter is, there’s no photographic evidence of such a car, let alone a confirmation from Volkswagen.
The French publication expects the German automaker to re-package the Tiguan in a coupe-like body shell, drawing a parallel to the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport Concept. Over in China, the Advanced Mid-Size SUV near-production concept acts as a preview of another coupe-ified utility vehicle, riding on the MQB platform.
If the inevitable does happen, what should we expect from the Tiguan Coupe? First and foremost, there’s no denying the unconfirmed model would be offered exclusively as a five-seater with the dashboard and switchgear from the Tiguan. Changing the body style also translates to less headroom for the rear passengers and less cargo capacity. In regard to the nitty-gritty, it’s likely the entry-level Tiguan Coupe to be equipped with front-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual transmission.
Higher up the spectrum, the R will level up to at least 310 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque, sent to all four wheels by a seven-speed DSG. The Cupra Ateca, by comparison, churns out 300 metric ponies from the 2.0-liter TSI four-cylinder engine.
In regard to straight-line performance, the Tiguan Coupe R could match the Golf R Variant (4.8 seconds to 100 km/h). On full song, 250 km/h are within reach on Germany’s Autobahn or a long enough strip of smooth tarmac with no speed limits.
The French publication expects the German automaker to re-package the Tiguan in a coupe-like body shell, drawing a parallel to the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport Concept. Over in China, the Advanced Mid-Size SUV near-production concept acts as a preview of another coupe-ified utility vehicle, riding on the MQB platform.
If the inevitable does happen, what should we expect from the Tiguan Coupe? First and foremost, there’s no denying the unconfirmed model would be offered exclusively as a five-seater with the dashboard and switchgear from the Tiguan. Changing the body style also translates to less headroom for the rear passengers and less cargo capacity. In regard to the nitty-gritty, it’s likely the entry-level Tiguan Coupe to be equipped with front-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual transmission.
Higher up the spectrum, the R will level up to at least 310 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque, sent to all four wheels by a seven-speed DSG. The Cupra Ateca, by comparison, churns out 300 metric ponies from the 2.0-liter TSI four-cylinder engine.
In regard to straight-line performance, the Tiguan Coupe R could match the Golf R Variant (4.8 seconds to 100 km/h). On full song, 250 km/h are within reach on Germany’s Autobahn or a long enough strip of smooth tarmac with no speed limits.