Having only just lifted the wraps off its all-new Beetle, Volkswagen is now toying with the idea of shoehorning a powerful engine into its boutique charge…
According to Volkswagen, the second-generation Beetle, which made its official debut at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, has been given a more masculine persona in a bid to broaden its potential audience and quash the somewhat effete connotations that the previous car just couldn’t seem to shake.
Volkswagen has already shown off a 2,0-litre Sports version of the car as part of the initial model release, but it appears that this 147 kW model may not occupy the top rung on the line-up.
British motoring publication Autocar claims that sources within Volkswagen have voiced their intention to give the Beetle a shot in the arm by introducing an R-badged variant.
“It’s too early to discuss specifics at the moment,” the source advised, “but you could reasonably expect power and performance comparable with that of other R models like the Scirocco and Golf.”
This could mean that the Beetle R could potentially feature the same 188 kW turbocharged 2,0-litre unit as its R-badged brethren, as well as a DSG transmission and possibly an all-wheel drive system.
The new Beetle is arguably sportier-looking than its predecessor and reportedly features a more low-slung stance and wider tracks more befitting a performance-orientated car – traits that bode well for a hot Beetle.
R model or not, we can expect the new Beetle to arrive in South Africa during the first quarter of 2012.