Good news for those elite members of society that recognise the estate’s superiority over the SUV… The all-new Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake has been teased ahead of it’s debut on June 24th. It gets even better as the sketch appears to show the estate in ‘R’ guise…
It’s due to be unveiled alongside an updated version of the current saloon model with upgraded technology and performance.
The Arteon was supposed to be Volkswagen’s first venture into the luxury saloon market and hoped to compete with the likes of the Audi A7 and Mercedes CLS. On the outside it certainly looks the part. Once you step inside, however, it becomes apparent that it’s just a well-built, better looking Passat
That’s set to change, though, as Volkswagen state the new and improved Arteon will benefit from a “completely new cockpit environment to match the exclusive charisma” of the model. It comes with the latest infotainment systems to ensure the best possible connectivity.
Built with long journeys in mind, highly assisted driving will be available in the Arteon thanks to new “Travel Assist” technology. This will allow the car to take over steering, braking and acceleration at speeds of up to 210km/h. That’s roughly 130mph to us and, realistically, it’s as close to self-driving as you can get in VW’s current range. Impressive stuff.
In terms of appearance, there will be subtle tweaks to the already very good looking Arteon saloon. New bumper and wheel designs as well as updated headlights and taillights appear to be in order. You’ll also notice the LED bar running across the grille much like on the new performance Golf models which adds to its sleek lines.
The big change is the long-awaited introduction of the Shooting Brake. The front end will be similar, if not identical, to the saloon sharing the large bonnet and prominent grille integrating into the headlights with the sporty outer intake trims.
Being an estate, that arching roofline will be extended all the way to the back of the car where you’ll find a newly designed tailgate and taillight setup. Not only will this look great but it will also give extra headroom for those inside the car as well as adding to the bootspace.
In terms of what’s under the bonnet, Volkswagen hasn’t given any specific details just yet. With CO2 regulations getting stiffer year-by-year, VW has recognised the need to use “innovative, future-oriented engine and emissions technologies”. I’d assume this means we can expect a PHEV variant as we have with the Golf and Passat in their GTE forms.
Spotted the ‘R’ badging on the grille in the Shooting Brake sketch? Whilst it won’t be powered by a big, powerful VR6 as was initially rumoured, we can still expect the Arteon R to be quick.
It’ll be offered in both estate and saloon form making it VW’s first properly quick saloon since the Passat R36.
It’s likely to share the new Golf R’s 2.0-litre turbocharged unit. This will offer upwards of 300bhp and will presumably be paired with VW’s 4Motion AWD system and a seven-speed DSG transmission. Another possibility is a high-performance hybridised powertrain which would most likely be purpose-built for this model.
It’ll also sit lower than the standard Arteon models and feature quad-exit exhausts. To put it simply, it will be better in every conceivable way and I am extremely excited about it. I know the sketches are always exaggerated but if they’re even mildly accurate, this is going to be an extremely cool car and may finally offer that level of exclusivity and luxury it initially set out to do.
Hopefully the Arteon Shooting Brake and Arteon R live up to my exceedingly high hopes and expectations when it is properly unveiled in a few week’s time.
Estate or saloon – which one will you be going for? Let us know what you think of the sketches in the comments section below or via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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