Volkswagen is underway with the development of an Arteon Shooting Brake, aimed at boosting the VW brand’s premium profile. At the same time, VW bosses are discussing the possibility of launching a new six-cylinder engine in the Arteon.
Dr. Elmar-Marius Licharz, head of product line for medium and full size cars, told Auto Express: “I would like to make an [Arteon] shooting brake – these plans are underway but it’s not yet final.”
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Speaking about the flexibility of the MQB architecture on which the Arteon is based, Licharz added: “If we build a six-cylinder engine – we are discussing it for the Arteon, we have built one already in a prototype vehicle – it will be one which you can also use in the Atlas and vice versa.”
There are currently no models within the entire VW Group on sale in Europe based on the MQB chassis that are offered with a six-cylinder engine. If VW decides to go ahead with the development of the six-cylinder unit in the Arteon it would be the first.
VW is positioning itself as the more premium mainstream brand within the VW Group and closer to the likes of Audi in terms of prestige than Skoda or SEAT. The Arteon is VW’s first real push into a premium area of the market where there is potential for large volume. It is designed to take on the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and Audi A5 Sportback.
No timescale was put on when the shooting brake would appear, but an arrival in 12 to 18 months from now is likely. The regular Arteon – a replacement for the old CC – arrives in the UK in October.
Would you buy a shooting brake version of the new VW Arteon? Let us know in the comments section below...
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