Volkswagen will be bringing a hotter Passat to this year’s Los Angeles Motor Show where it will be jostling for eyeballs with the all-new Atlas SUV that’s been specifically targeted for sale in that region.
The German marque hasn’t really given much attention to the North American version of the Passat that was launched in 2012 to replace the B6, so this GT comes as a welcome if tardy show of affection in the form of added performance and red accents.
For lovers of the Passat R36’s narrow-angle V6 engine, you’ll be envious to know that Volkswagen went against convention to use it as this Passat GT’s means of motivation - a 3.6-litre unit that chucks out a respectable 209kW that’s managed by a six-speed DSG transmission. We’d typically expect some variance of their 2.0-litre turbo-petrol to be slotted in instead.
Volkswagen hasn’t disclosed where the drive is sent to. The Passat VR6 sold here was equipped with the 4motion all-wheel drive system but the fact that that key piece of specification has not made the official announcement leads us to suspect a front-drive setup is used.
The Passat GT also takes visual cues from VW’s other performance-oriented offerings, namely the MK7 Golf GTI. We see echoes of it in the front bumper strakes, honeycomb grille with red accents, and its 19-inch Tornado wheels. Its suspension has been lowered to better meet the larger alloys. Aside from that, however, we’re not aware of any other major changes that could effect or improve handling.
Inside, the GT gets a subtly sportier cabin treatment that’s furnished with some faux carbon fibre trim pieces on the door and dash, which admittedly, does pair well to the versatile piano black accents that VW has applied liberally to the base Passat.
It should be noted that the Passat GT is classified as a concept vehicle for now, but does rather teasingly make note of its obvious “production potential”. Given the changes are relatively easy to implement, our question is why hasn’t this car already reached showrooms?
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