First Look: Volkswagen’s New Coupe

Coupe Photos

Volkswagen's "Coupe" won't have two doors, it'll have four. (Photo: VW)

It's the roof line that will give the car its coupe aspect. (Photo: VW)

Panoramic roof is a high-end touch for this luxury car. (Photo: VW)

Even the mirrors look sleek. (Photo: VW)

Volkswagen is laying down the foundation for its second attempt at a higher-end luxury car with a series of new teaser shots as a part of a microsite. The German brand isn’t about to do a repeat of the full-size Phaeton luxury sedan, so this forthcoming car won’t be as extravagant, yet it will be an extension of VW’s upmarket push. The so-called Coupe will be based off VW’s popular midsize Passat, but will be rebodied with a sleek new exterior. Despite the more rakish appearance, this will be a proper four-door sedan and not a coupe as we’re used to thinking of. Consider it Volkswagen’s version of the Mercedes-Benz CLS. The teaser photos don’t give away too much about what the car as a whole will look like, but the little snippets make it out to be sophisticated with plenty of chrome.

Content not normally associated with Volkswagen will differentiate this car from other vehicles in the brand’s portfolio, such as a panoramic sunroof, radar cruise control and more. Another big addition will be the introduction of VW’s all new navigation system, which was first shown in the Tiguan compact SUV. Granted that some of these features have already been introduced on the Touareg and Phaeton, where the latter car is still sold, the key difference is that this car will be produced and marketed in much higher volumes.


As with most Volkswagen products, the engine lineup for the car will be quite generous and very advanced. The starting point will be the 1.8-liter TSI engine that’s also doing duty in Audi’s upcoming A3 Cabriolet. It produces 180 horsepower in this application. Moving up from there, VW will fit a 230-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder (most likely a modified version of the 2.0T), not to mention an array of V6 engines including the 300-hp, narrow-angle 3.6-liter V6 from the Passat R36. The new car will also have a plethora of diesel engines available, including the 140-hp 2.0-liter TDI, similar to what is being featured in the forthcoming Jetta TDI, as well as a much more powerful 204-horsepower version of the same engine. V6 diesels will also be offered, with torque figures that will no doubt dwarf their gasoline counterparts. Gearboxes will include manual, automatic and DSG, plus, of course, 4Motion all wheel drive will be an option.

There’s still a lot to uncover about this car, namely what it will be called, and then when we’ll get a chance to see it. Chances are that it’ll be shown in Geneva early next year, but it’s a possibility that we could see it as soon as Detroit.

It’s important to realize that this is just one of the many cars that Volkswagen will be introducing to diversify its product range. By delivering more niche products, VW will be able to attract a more diverse range of customers to its dealerships.