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VW Arteon Shooting Brake Might Happen, Not Inspired by CLS-Class, Obviously

The Volkswagen Arteon hasn't even been revealed yet and already the rumor mill is churning away. The latest suggests that a shooting brake version is on the table.
CC Shooting Brake 3 photos
Photo: Remco M
VW Arteon Shooting Brake Might Happen, Not Inspired by CLS-Class, ObviouslyVW Arteon Shooting Brake Might Happen, Not Inspired by CLS-Class, Obviously
Not drawing a parallel with Mercedes-Benz is impossible. The Arteon is designed to be the successor of the CC (so hard not to say Passat), which was in turn inspired by the famous CLS-Class.

And the second generation of the CLS, the one we have right now, also got a Shooting Brake version. So VW deserves 0 points for creativity.

Of course, approval for glorified Volkswagen wagon won't come straight away. First, they need to launch the regular version, see what the reaction is and then build a business case.

“The first thing we must see is the market reaction to the standard car. If we are to make derivatives of this car then it needs a good base, but we do think that a shooting brake is absolutely the sort of car that could work. First, it needs a business case, but it looks quite good,"
said Elmar-Marius Licharz, VW’s head of full-size product lines, in an interview with Autocar.

But why are they considering the Shooting Brake version in the first place? Surely, the rumored coupe version of the Tiguan is a much more important product. But VW believes the Arteon SB can draw attention to the brand through its sheer force of design.

So why do we have pictures of a car that's not been approved yet? Well, the Arteon's design was already previewed by a concept called the Sport Coupe GTE, and Remco M thought about a Shooting Brake version as early as May 2015.

The Passat headlights might be wrong, but this is clearly an avant-garde project for Volkswagen. But it's not an original art piece, plus it's one that Mercedes couldn't make work. Another problem might be that customers simply don't need a bigger trunk, since the regular sedan-shaped Arteon will have a liftback opening like the Audi A7 Sportback. Between that and the larger rears seats, a bike should fit in there without any problems.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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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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