The Volkswagen Beetle’s days are numbered, but at least it will go to its grave with updated looks.
Design changes are coming for the 2017 model, with a host of new trim lines on tap — in Europe, at least. Expect the updated model to be the resurrected nameplate’s last makeover, as production is said to end in late 2018.
All Beetle bumpers become flatter and sportier, with R-Line models given a more aggressive bumper treatment, complete with larger openings and a ventilation strip above the bumper. Think of it as bumping the Porsche DNA up by a percentage point or two.
New wheel and paint options are part of the mix, as are tinted LED taillights. R-Line models receive a restyled dash and brighter interior lighting, as well as a new interior package.
A “Black Style Package” offers the option of blacking out the roof, mirrors and wheels for a sportier effect. Put that matte Tremclad away, kids.
Expect powertrains carry over as before. Now, will all of the European market changes cross the Atlantic? Volkswagen of America hasn’t confirmed what to expect out of the new model.
Still, with Beetle sales sliding in the U.S., anything that stops (or even reverses) that trend will be welcomed by the company and its stressed American dealer network.
[Image: Volkswagen AG]
Make mine a clean burning diesel…
Boy I tell ya what
Too soon?
Had they installed the stealth pleasure emitters in this thing they could have saved it. Alas, the supply of such devices can just barely meet the crossover demand.
Goodnight, sweet coleopteric prince.
This current Beetle is FAR better looking than the first New Beetle. Too bad nobody wants one.
Tell you what, the one thing I’d have from this car and put on other vehicles is those big chrome full moon wheels. I love em. Imagine those on a black 2010 DTS, with the appropriate wreathed center caps.
They should bring back the 1964 Beetle. I’d buy another one of those.
Being human and subjective with little or in some instances no research.
Is there ANY rubber on those spoked wheels?
Absurd. The Beetle was cheap and fun – this is something entirely different.
Take the golf r engine and drive train. Lift the beetle 3″. Add requisite rolling stock and suspension bits to make it a true off-road vehicle. Call it some clever ploy on dune buggy. Don’t halfway cater to your enthusiast fan base with a 1″ lift and 1.8t. Go all in and have some passionate fans.
Good idea except for one thing. Anytime VWoA comes up with a truly noteworthy performance vehicle, they price it in the stratosphere so only a few truly devoted fans are interested. It’s not like VW vehicles are a decent value in any sense, anyway.
I have no doubt that something as described would cost as much as an Audi (maybe even a low-level Porsche) and really expensive VWs, no matter how good, end up, in dealer parlance, “nailed to the showroom floor”. VW learned (or should have learned) this the hard way from the Phaeton debacle.