New VW Passat - In Detail

Press Release

Page 1 - Overview & Body Design
Page 2 - Body Technology
Page 3 - Interior
Page 4 - Standard Equipment
Page 5 - Engines / Gearbox
Page 6 - Chassis
Page 7 - The History of the Passat

Overview

The new Passat is here!

• Four different engines available at the market launch
• Entry level model available from 21,800 euros - advance sales start today

Wolfsburg, 16. February 2005 - The sixth generation Passat will be launched on the German market on 11 March. Advanced sales start today for the saloon.

The Passat will initially be offered with four different engines: the 1.6 l FSI with 85 kW / 115 PS and the 2.0 l FSI with 110 kW / 150 PS with homogeneous direct injection will be available in the Passat for the first time, as will be the 1.9 l TDI with 77 kW / 105 PS and the 2.0 l TDI with 103 kW / 140 PS. All four engines are combined with a manual gearbox. During the coming year, the FSI engine will be available with an automatic gearbox, and the 2.0 l TDI 103 kW / 140 PS will be paired with a direct shift gearbox. The engine and gearbox combinations will be extended throughout the year. The 75 kW / 102 PS petrol engine will go on sale shortly after the market launch.

The new Passat can be ordered in four equipment levels: Trend­line is the entry level package with a high standard of comfort, convenience and safety. Comfortline places even more emphasis on functionality, convenience and comfort. Sportline is a dynamic version of the Passat. The Passat Highline equipment level positions the Passat in the range of the upper-mid-class.

With its chrome radiator grille, its stylish interior design and its intelligent safety and functional elements, such as the electronic parking brake, the innovative starting and locking system and the automatic luggage compartment opening feature, the new Passat has a range of features unique to its segment and which are usually found only in luxury class vehicles. However, the Passat remains affordable: with the entry level 75 kW / 102 PS petrol engine, the new Passat costs exactly the same as it did in the previous generation. At the market launch, the 1.6 l FSI with the Trendline equipment level is available from 23,075 euros, the 2.0 l FSI costs 25,450 euros. The TDI-engines have a starting price of 24,010 euros for the 1.9 l TDI, and 25,650 euros for the 2.0 l TDI.

The Passat - the continuation of a success story

The first Passat was built at the Volkswagen factory in Emden 32 years ago. The Passat has become the most successful Volkswagen model after the Golf and Beetle. Over 13 million vehicles have been built since 1973. This means that on average, some 1.150 Passats have been delivered every day for over three decades (2004: 2,700 per working day). The most important markets for the Passat are Germany, Italy, France and Great Britain in Europe. China and the USA are the strongest overseas markets.

Body Design

• New Face: The first Volkswagen to feature the front from the next era
• Appealing: Design combining typical brand clarity with emotion

The Passat, which was first launched in 1973, is one of the worldís most famous automobiles. Each generation has featured its very own design profile. Each Passat design also reflected the times. On the fifth generation, which is now being replaced, it was the crisp lines that impressed people

when Volkswagen presented the car for the first time around the middle of the last decade. The design of the extensively revised fifth generation introduced in 2000 visualised the manufacturing and material quality superbly. Furthermore, since this Passat, the topic of quality has progressed to be a multi-facetted design message.

The new Passat now shows what happens when designers interpret this clear, logical and comprehensible style in a more powerful, athletic and passionate way than ever before. Design ñ along with innovative technology ñ will catapult the saloon over the largest evolutionary step since the birth of the series to a more sporty, sophisticated dimension that crosses class boundaries.

Front End: One succinct symbol for the vitality of the brand and the innovative force of the designs is the new radiator grille together with the headlights, bonnet and bumpers. Resembling a coat of arms, it forms the outlines of the new VW brand face. The stylistic direction for this future VW face has been indicated by the studies Concept R (roadster) and Concept C (cabriolet coupÈ), which have caught a great deal of attention. The new Passat is the first production vehicle to bear these features and show a comparable force.

The designers headed by Murat G¸nak have the following explanation: ìA V-shape develops from the bonnet, lines run together up to the front section and thus form the frame for the radiator grille resembling a coat of arms. The form and geometry of this element are emphasised by the use of chrome.î

The headlights are a similarly important to the identity of the Passat. Even though the dipped and full-beam lights are mounted in a trapezoidal shaped housing, they have been configured as individual round elements both technically and optically. The Passatís indicators have been integrated in the bumpers as thin light strips. Side indicators have also been added to the door mirrors.

Silhouette: Dynamism and excitement have been the focus for the geometry of the side windows. While their lower edge forms a taut line, the upper line follows an elegant, powerful curve starting at the A-pillar that becomes part of the rear door joint around the B-pillar in a countermovement. The roof line itself flows into the rear with a stretched curve. The constellation of the side windows, door joints and roof curve creates a striking C-pillar that optically emphasises the apparent forwards push.

The whole side line has been made more muscular than on any other Passat: Striking lines around the sills and the body shoulder rise towards the rear and are ìdrawn togetherî by the shape of the roof. One extra elegant touch is the side bump strip running into the rear bumper.

Rear End: The rear of the Passat is characterised by quick-response LED taillights that complement the headlights with round main elements. Here again a round element breaks the bottom of the trapezoidal shape. The new headlights provide a very striking nighttime look in the same way as the Phaeton first had.