VW: Back to the drawing board :: Passat Coupe Cancelled

[phaeton]

phaeton's view: GCZ member Jimmy tipped me onthe Passat Coupe cancellation last night, the rest is old news and has been reported before
The only problem with redesigning everything is delays which VW does not need right now.



Volkswagen: Back to the drawing board By GREG KABLE

AutoWeek | Published 01/25/07, 11:58 am et
The future is no more for Volkswagen’s heavily touted Passat-based coupe which is the first victim of new company chairman Martin Winterkorn’s fresh management regime.

The four-door, originally planned to debut at a gala in Berlin on February 15, is officially on hold. That comes as part of a rethinking on all future products ordered by Winterkorn after his arrival at the German carmaker’s Wolfsburg headquarters on January 1.

The Passat coupe is one of a number of coming VW models under scrutiny by the new management team. Others include the reborn Scirocco sports coupe and Tiguan small ute; both have been revealed in concept form and were due in showrooms within the next 12 months. Also in limbo is next year’s bread-winning sixth-generation Golf.

The Passat, described by various sources as VW’s answer to the Mercedes-Benz CLS, was part of a multi-million-Euro niche model offensive created under former chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder. Alongside the Scirocco and Tiguan, this Passat coupe was conceived to lessen VW’s financial dependence on traditional large-volume models, while pushing it into new segments and exposing it to new customers.

Plans had called for the Passat to debut in concept guise at the coming Geneva motor show; a definitive production version was to bow at the November Los Angeles auto at the end of this year.

“We were all set to present the CC (VW’s internal code for the car, denoting C-segment Coupe) but its future is now up in the air,” a high-ranking insider told AutoWeek.

With Winterkorn determined to make his mark at VW after his recent success steering sister company Audi to record sales and profits, it remains unclear whether the Passat coupe will ever see a public road. However, with its development already complete and plans already underway to build it at VW’s Emden facility in Germany, to kill it this late would prove costly.

Still Winterkorn says he has a clear vision for VW. “We’re in the process of evaluating the entire business,” he said at the recent launch of Audi’s R8 in Las Vegas. “It will take some time before we can move forward with decisions on new products.”

Since tapped to head VW in early December, the 60-year-old German has surrounded himself with familiar faces. That move has brought unrest to VW’s existing managerial ranks. Among those joining Winterkorn from Audi is Ulrich Hackenberg (vehicle development); Walter de Silva (design); Wolfgang Hatz (engine development); Matthias Müller (product planning) and Jochem Heizmann (production).

AutoWeek learned the new management team has already identified areas where all proposed new VW models can be improved, though specifics remain under wraps. Each new model will undergo a styling review as well, at the behest of Winterkorn who wants VW to do away with its various front-end designs in favor of a more uniform appearance.

Source http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../70125001/1024

[Mr. M]

I would be begging Winterkorn to give this the green light. But put aside all of our preferences and desires to see this car in production, Winterkorn is making the right choice in putting this on hold. I believe he is returning VW back to its roots, thereby cancelling or postponing all luxury dreams at VW. This would probably return VW to greater profitability and better staple cars (Golf, Passat) which is good in the long run. With this I see even less hope for the Phaeton continuing.

[PanterroR]

Pity... Because of some nice PS i was really excited about that car, but now...

[DaSilva]

Great news ...

I hope the A5 and Passat Coupe will look so different that you can't tell that W. DeSilva has drawn them both. which is a good thing