With so much attention being focused at the moment on the VW Group's plans for electrification and all new EVs and hybrids, it can be easy to overlook the fact there's still a sizeable market for cars that are considerably more traditional in appearance and substance. Volkswagen hasn't forgotten though, and that's because the German auto giant has just confirmed there will soon be an estate (or wagon) version of its flagship Arteon to tempt those buyers who need a little more room in the trunk than the sedan offers.
Although a release date hasn't been confirmed as yet, the shooting brake version of the Arteon has now been signed off on, and we've also been told the Arteon will go on sale in the United States and China later in the year.
Once again, swimming against the electrification tide, this larger and more spacious version of the Arteon could also see the introduction of a more powerful petrol engine option. The UK publication Auto Express was reporting last year that bosses at Volkswagen were considering launching a new V-6 in the Arteon.
VW's head of product line for medium and full size cars, Dr. Elmar-Marius Licharz, told the magazine: "I would like to make an [Arteon] shooting brake – these plans are underway but it's not yet final. 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."
At the moment, there isn't a single vehicle in the entire VW Group on sale in Europe based on the extremely flexible MQB chassis that's available with a six-cylinder engine. If the company now decides to go ahead with the development of a six-cylinder powerplant for the Arteon it would be a first for the platform. It would also take the car in an opposite direction to the one the likes of Volvo are now going in, which has now shunned the idea of using anything bigger than four-cylinder engines entirely.
Volkswagen is, however, going in the same direction as the likes of Volvo by repositioning itself as a more premium brand than it's been perceived as in the past. VW is looking to leave more mainstream duties to the likes of SEAT and Skoda in the VW Group, while the Volkswagen brand moves closer to Audi.
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