VW teases next Beetle

VOLKSWAGEN has used a multi-million-dollar Super Bowl television commercial in North America to reveal the dramatic new roofline of its next New Beetle, which has now been confirmed for release in North America this spring but won’t be seen in Australia until 2012.

As revealed by this teaser silhouette image, which was shown to a TV audience of more than 100 million during Sunday night’s Super Bowl final in the US, Volkswagen’s next-generation Beetle will ditch the current model’s ‘three semi-circle’ profile for a sleeker, more aggressive look.

Presented with the words “The 21st Century Beetle coming this fall”, the New Beetle’s bonnet and roofline adopts the flatter profile seen in a number of recent spy images and on the Ragster concept car, which previewed a squatter and more masculine look for the Volkswagen icon as long ago as 2005.

US sources claim the first redesign of the car that relaunched Volkswagen’s most famous model in 1998 (2003 for the Cabrio) will be about 90mm longer than before, liberating about 40 litres more (rear, not front) luggage space and around 30mm of extra headroom – despite the flatter roof.

The Beetle will again share its foundations with the Golf (in this case the Mk5/6 platform), while a combination of TSI petrol and TDI diesel four-cylinder VW Group engines will reside beneath its new-look three-door exterior.

Left: VW Ragster concept.

While hybrid and Golf GTI-powered versions will eventually top the new range, the next Beetle will for the first time also be offered with a dual-clutch automated manual transmission.

Reflecting its less retro persona, Volkswagen executives have already confirmed the latest New Beetle – which carries the VW324/325 internal codename – will not come with a flower holder.

With the outgoing New Beetle no longer on sale in Australia following the cessation of production in Mexico last August after more than a million sales, Volkswagen is keen to fuel pent-up demand by drawing out the reveal of its successor, which will also be built in South America.

Presented alongside a second TV commercial for North America’s next Passat, the 2012 Beetle TVC depicts a fantasy world in which a beetle defeats other ‘bugs’ in a race, before its silhouette is transformed into that of the car.

“The Super Bowl is a TV event with one of the highest viewer totals in the world,” said Volkswagen Passenger Cars head of marketing Luca de Meo ahead of Sunday’s night’s season finale between two of North America’s premier football teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“We intend to take this opportunity to present our latest models to a very wide audience and to heighten the emotional associations of the Volkswagen brand.

“There are very few occasions when commercial spots can attract such levels of attention as at the Super Bowl. The originality of our commercials will help make the game an unforgettable TV experience,” he said.

Volkswagen plans further promotions in conjunction with The Oprah Winfrey Show, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL) in the lead-up to the launch of the Passat and Beetle in the world’s second-largest car market.