Photo: Volkswagen
Refusing to give up on the US market, Volkswagen has put together a hot-blooded Passat GT concept car for the upcoming 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. It's going to go off like a 6-cylinder bomb, or flop, depending on your perspective.
Sports sedans are nothing new, but they are a little uncommon in the rental car pool that is the mid-sized segment. And, following Volkswagen's lead, Hyundai and Kia made their sports sedans with 2-liter turbo engines.
But instead of using the Golf R engine, the makers of the Passat GT went old-school with the 3.6-liter VR6 engine. Wow, that takes us back to the era of the Passat R and its massive chromed grille.
Instead of that, this Passat production-inspired concept uses all the references it can borrow from the recent Golf facelift and the Jetta GLI. On the top and bottom of the black grille, red stripes have been placed to accentuate the sporty character.
The designers have also played with the side air intakes. I love that, but they could have added some LEDs in there just like the tuners do.
Things are less spectacular around the back where the trunk has barely been accentuated. But the massive dual exhaust tips that remind us of the Skoda Octavia RS are a nice touch. The Passat GT sits 0.6 inches lower to the ground on 19-inch Tornado wheels that cover red-painted brake calipers. Unfortunately, the interior is the standard 2016/2017 Passat affair.
“The Passat GT is an early example of how the new Volkswagen North American Region will meet the needs and desires of American customers going forward,” said Matthias Erb, Chief Engineering Officer, North American Region. “We have the freedom and the responsibility to shape future North American vehicles here in the U.S., combining engineering resources from around the world with our unique perspective and talented local team.”
Given that the Passat GT looks 100% ready for production, we expect Volkswagen will move forward with it, provided that the initial response in Los Angeles is good. But it feels like the company is just stalling for time until it can fund the development of another Passat.
But instead of using the Golf R engine, the makers of the Passat GT went old-school with the 3.6-liter VR6 engine. Wow, that takes us back to the era of the Passat R and its massive chromed grille.
Instead of that, this Passat production-inspired concept uses all the references it can borrow from the recent Golf facelift and the Jetta GLI. On the top and bottom of the black grille, red stripes have been placed to accentuate the sporty character.
The designers have also played with the side air intakes. I love that, but they could have added some LEDs in there just like the tuners do.
Things are less spectacular around the back where the trunk has barely been accentuated. But the massive dual exhaust tips that remind us of the Skoda Octavia RS are a nice touch. The Passat GT sits 0.6 inches lower to the ground on 19-inch Tornado wheels that cover red-painted brake calipers. Unfortunately, the interior is the standard 2016/2017 Passat affair.
“The Passat GT is an early example of how the new Volkswagen North American Region will meet the needs and desires of American customers going forward,” said Matthias Erb, Chief Engineering Officer, North American Region. “We have the freedom and the responsibility to shape future North American vehicles here in the U.S., combining engineering resources from around the world with our unique perspective and talented local team.”
Given that the Passat GT looks 100% ready for production, we expect Volkswagen will move forward with it, provided that the initial response in Los Angeles is good. But it feels like the company is just stalling for time until it can fund the development of another Passat.
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