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Tough-Looking 2015 Volkswagen Passat R400 Needs to Go into Production!

One of the biggest stories of this week tells us Volkswagen wants to use the R badge on something other than a Golf, namely the Polo and Passat. Since overpowered superminis are common nowadays, we turn our attention to the virtually crafted Passat R400, the digitally re-mastered work of a Hungarian renderer that we definitely approve of.
2015 Volkswagen Passat R400 1 photo
Photo: http://xtomi.blogspot.hu/
As the name suggests, the Passat R400 gets its design cues from the Golf R400 Concept shown earlier this year. This means you get carbon fiber inserts for the front bumper and side skirts, as well as neon yellow accents on the front grille.

The Passat is supposed to be a subtle executive car, so adding 19-inch wheels and a body kit doesn't exactly work. But the idea behind this rendering is brilliant, basically an Audi S4 on a budget.

What Volkswagen says

Volkswagen powertrain chief Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser recently revealed that a Passat R is being considered right now. If put into production, this would use a new six-cylinder engine, the first of its kind to be fitted to an MQB car. No further details are available at the moment, but Volkswagen Group is probably developing a 3-litter TSI V6 unit that it wants to use on the US-bound 7-seat crossover scheduled to launch in 2016. For the Passat, this would be tuned to somewhere around 400 hp, sitting right between the output of an Audi S4 and an RS4.

The Golf R400 Concept actually used a 2-liter TSI engine to reach that output. However, it's not feasible to build a small engine with this much boost at the moment. Besides turbo lag, there's also the reliability of the components that needs to be considered, something Volkswagen doesn't want to get wrong.

There are a few problems with the Passat R though, one of them being the cost of developing such a car, which could easily skyrocket. A performance version of the Passat would also appeal only to a small group of VW loyal fans.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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