Press Release
Exterior Design
Visible Passion
New face: the first Volkswagen equipped with the exterior of a new era Sensual: Design adds emotion to trademark definition
The Passat, which made its market debut for the first time in 1973, numbers among the world's most famous automobiles. Its varying, always independent design profile has been continually emphasised for generation after generation. Each new Passat design has been a reflective expression of its own era. The fifth generation's clear-cut design, now superseded, never failed to convince, a style exemplified by Volkswagen since the middle of the last decade. The fifth generation's extensively revised design, premiËred in 2000, powerfully accentuated production and material quality. And, in the wake of this Passat, the quality factor has developed into a design vocation.
The new Passat embodies what occurs when designers interpret this clear-cut, logical and comprehensible style more powerfully, athletically and passionately than ever before: design and innovative technology united, working together to catapult the saloon into a sportier, more discriminate, class-transcending dimension in the most ambitious evolutionary step since the series was invented.
Striking signpost:
The new Passat points to a positive stylistic future for the brand
Front section: The new medallion-shaped radiator grille combined with headlights, bonnet and bumpers serves to succinctly sum up the traditional Volkswagen vitality and power of design innovation, successfully forming the new face of the brand as outlined here. The stylistic slant selected for this Volkswagen "face of the future" was anticipated by the much celebrated studies Concept R (Roadster) and Concept C (Cabriolet-Coupe). Now the first mass-produced vehicle, in the form of the new Passat, bears these characteristics, demonstrating its proportionate power in the process.
A "V" motif is subtly developed, with lines extending from the bonnet and winding their way to the front of the vehicle, forming a communal framework for the new medallion-shaped radiator grille. The shape and graphic effects of this element are underlined by the chrome construction and self-confident dimensions.
Similarly, the headlights make a significant contribution to the Passat's identity. Although dipped and full beam headlights are located in a single trapezoidal casing, they are, technically as well as optically, designed as round individual elements. The Passat's indicators are integrated into the bumper in the form of slender light strips. Their counterparts: stylish side indicators, located in the wing mirror casings.
Silhouette: An exciting mix of vitality and energy is recaptured, in concentrated form, in the graphic design of the side windows. A tightly-drawn lower edge is coupled with a powerfully elegant arch described by the window's upper edge, beginning in the A-pillar, subsequently fusing with the rear door seam in counter-motion in the environs of the B-pillar. The roof alignment itself arches eloquently down towards the rear. The combination of side window, door seam and roofing gradient produces a prominent C-pillar, optically boosting the dynamic impulse to push forward.
In general, this Passat's lateral alignment has more muscle than ever before: distinctive lines created in running area and the edge of the car body subsequently slope towards the rear before being "recaptured" in the roof's design. An impressive lateral touch: the side protection strips extend into the rear bumper.
Rear section: The Passat's rear is characterised by quick-activating LED tail-lights, completing the stylistic theme initiated by the matching headlights with their round main components. Here, a round element succeeds in interrupting the trapezoidal theme in a downward slant. The new headlights exhibit a distinctive nocturnal graphic effect, as initially demonstrated by the Phaeton.
