New VW Beetle launched

[jnrdavo]

This is the new, more masculine Volkswagen Beetle. Gone is the cutesy dash with its hippy vase and in its place is a more conventional and modern cabin.

In the first substantial remake of the icon since Volkswagen revived the classic Bug in 1998, the new Beetle sits lower to the ground and has a wider stance, with a longer bonnet and a more streamlined profile - Herbie on steroids.

The new design is an answer to criticism of the 1998 remake, which many thought was too cute and abandoned the practicality and working class roots of the original.

The new design has a bigger boot and VW says the rear seats feel less cramped.


Click for more photos

Volkswagen's redesigned Beetle, was unveiled at the 2011 Shanghai motor show.






The new car is 84mm wider, 12mm lower to the ground and 152mm longer, with a wider track (the distance between the left and right wheels) and wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels).

The car has a more square-jawed front end, with straight lines replacing curves. There is a wider front intake, a more chiselled front bumper and pumped up haunches housing bigger wheels that fill up the arches. LED daytime running lights complete the transformation.

From the side, the glass area is narrower and the belt-line is higher. The bulbous rear-end of the 1998 version has been replaced by a more streamlined, sporty look that includes squarer tail-lights, twin exhausts and a spoiler on sporty variants.

The cabin of the old car was criticised for its deep dashboard, which gave it a utilitarian rather than sporty feel, and the new one is more like the popular Golf. The car revealed to the world simultaneously at the Shanghai and New York motor shows has a flat-bottomed steering wheel, carbon fibre highlights, a prominent satellite navigation screen and a row of three sports-car-style dials sitting prominently on the top of the dash.

Headroom has been sacrificed for the new sleeker design but bootspace is improved from a miserly 209 litres to a more useable 310 litres. There's also a new panoramic sunroof that Volkswagen says is 80 per cent larger than the original.

The Beetle has also dropped the "new" from its title, but the latest iteration will be available in three models, "Beetle", "Design" and "Sport".

In a nod to the original Beetle's "hippy" roots, the car has a sound system developed in conjunction with renowned rock amplifier and guitar maker Fender, weapon of choice for Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton.

Engines include 77kW and 103kW diesels and three forced induction four-cylinders; a 77kW 1.2-litre turbo, a 118kW 1.4-litre turbo and supercharged engine and a 147kW version of the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine in the Golf GTI. Conventional autos, manual and twin-clutch automated manual transmissions are available.

The car will be launched in Europe in October and should arrive in Australia in the first quarter of 2012.

The original Beetle debuted in 1938 and more than 21 million were built. The "New" Beetle debuted in 1998 and sold roughly one million units.


[source: smh.com.au]

[Old Timer]

looks Audi-ish to me...

[Eddy]

Hoyhoy.

Nice stance for a beetle & with the Golf GTI's engine it should sell heaps.
It could be a real fun machine.

[jnrdavo]

yeah, I like it too... Looks like they have taken it to a 'pimp my car' place and chopped the roof... :-)

[Lams]

finally, a VW that looks different to all the other VWs!

[phaeton]

Porsche like at the back I like it , but Chinese photos have revealed it has the torsion beam rear suspension on the Mk6 US spec Jetta its based on

[Lams]

I read a while back that it does use the Jetta platform but there's a 2.0T coming with IRS :-)

[Eddy]

Hoyhoy.

Why not have the new look with the old rear wheel drive, which could catch on.
Better still a 2.0 lit. turbo front & rear, now that would be a hoot.

[phaeton]

I read a while back that it does use the Jetta platform but there's a 2.0T coming with IRS :-)

Thats correct IRS for top models has been confirmed

[Aussie Volks Guy]

Thats correct IRS for top models has been confirmed

Should be a nice chassis, mind you, the Polo has done well with the fixed rear axle (and sub 1200kg weight)