It's VW's turn: here comes another 4-door coupe
The CLS has begun a trend that simply will not quit, with Volkswagen being the latest to join the express train to a 4-door-coupe. The 4DC trend is not a bad thing, especially since it has lead to the creation of BMW's CS. And frankly, if the rendering is accurate, this car could be a looker as well, and most likely a much better seller than a new Phaeton.
Internally, the car is called the CC or I/O 511, and might use Audi's A6 platform. If not, it will take its chassis, as well as transversely installed engines, and transmissions, from the Passat. Engines will range from a 150 hp 2.0-liter to a 280 hp 3.6-liter V6. The design was sorted out last year, and although only slightly wider than the Passat, it features the wide, aggressive look of VW's recent concept vehicles. The look that, sadly, hasn't made it to their production cars yet (come on, Scirocco!). Word has it that the car will take a bow at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, and go on sale in summer of '08.
[Source: eGM Car Tech via Auto Zeitung]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael 12:41PM (5/06/2007)
"The CLS has begun a trend that simply will not quit, with Volkswagen being the latest to join the express train to a 4-door-coupe. The 4DC trend is not a bad thing, especially since it has lead to the creation of BMW's CS. And frankly, if the rendering is accurate, this car could be a looker as well, and most likely a much better seller than a new Phaeton."
Should that say "VW's CS?" I'm confused ...
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Drew Adler 3:29PM (6/04/2007)
No. BMW made a concept called the CS which is a 4DC.
Drewboy 12:47PM (5/06/2007)
That looks VERY nice.
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Richard S. 12:57PM (5/06/2007)
Looks great. If VW can price this car for a smaller premium over the Passat it can have a runaway success. Unfortunately VW still thinks that its brand is on par with Mercedes (which led to the disastrous Phaeton) and most likely will price it in BMW/Audi/Mercedes/Lexus territory.
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tony altomare 1:44PM (5/06/2007)
Relax
The car is just gourgeous. I saw the car in Phoenix and it's definatly a looker. The nose is changed it has the new grill that Winterkorn has ordered but still a very good looking car. We were told the price will be around $25000 Ha!!! what about those potatos. This car is hot and it will be a great thing for the brand.
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mk 1:49PM (5/06/2007)
It looks like a decent enough car...
But for the love of pete,
COUPES CAN'T HAVE FOUR DOORS. Just like Bicycles can't have four wheels.
Coupe is a frech word for carriages and automobiles with TWO doors!
Words mean things, and wishful thinking doesn't change their definitions.
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Mike 1:47PM (5/06/2007)
I hate to break it to everyone but the BMW CS is not attractive and I dunno why people keep talking about it like it's the second coming of the automobile. I hope whatever production models that are born of that concept look a hell of alot better than the concept itself. Eyelids on the headlights? C'mon now, that's 90's rice-tuner style.
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mk 2:00PM (5/06/2007)
correction, coupe is a french word. I don't know any fretch words. :D
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Stealth E34 1:52PM (5/06/2007)
rmk, in this case the term coupe refers to the shape of the car, and has nothing to do with the number of doors.
Since these cars generally look like 2-doors, the word coupe is the only logical choice in describing what they are.
Bring it on VW. I want the BMW CS first though.
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mk 2:14PM (5/06/2007)
you can't un-define "coupe" on a case by case basis. It either means two doors or it doesn't. The dictionary says that it does.
Re-defining language in general is a bad habit that has entered the lexicon, and has really taken hold in the era of political correctness, and all it does is serve to confuse communication.
You can't say that in one case, coupe refers to the number of doors (as the definition states) and in another case, number of doors is irrelevant, and it refers to a very generalized impression of a car's shape. The shape of cars changes over time, what will we re-define it to be in another few years, or decades, when cars look slightly different?
Re-defining coupe to mean something about shape opens it up to be further re-defined or un-defined to be nearly meaningless.
Rather than revising the dictionary, why not just come up with a new word for sleek performance oriented four-doors? That would be better than destroying the actual definition of a pre-existing word.
The CLS/BMW CS/Aston Rapide, Porsche Panamera, this VW concept, etc... may be fine cars. But they are not coupes, regardless of any slight resemblance. They are sport sedans, until a new work is coined to represent them. the word "coupe" is already established as something else.
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DC_1 3:03PM (5/06/2007)
This seems to be a hot new trend…So why isn’t Lincoln or Cadillac jumping on this new trend that looks to be permanent.
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Graham 3:52PM (5/06/2007)
"Coupe is a french word for carriages and automobiles with TWO doors!"
i just looked it up and while not always two doors everything i got said two seats
and i agree with mk, calling the cars 4 door coupes is like saying that a porsche 911 is a 2 door saloon, the names come from the history of carriages etc. (hence "coachbuilders" designing and building car bodies)
calling it a 4 door coupe really is just a way of making middle aged men who need a saloon feel like thur buying a sportscar, now im not saying the cars cant perform but its a matter of connotations in this case
and the car doesn't look that bad reminds me of the new Jaguar concept tho except with door handles and a different front of course
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jgp 4:23PM (5/06/2007)
Are you people stupid? Coupe doesn't mean two doors. It refers to the shape and proportion of the cabin, and only that.
There can be two-door sedans and four-door coupes. BMW made some very famous two-door sedans back in the 70s and 80s.
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jj 4:54PM (5/06/2007)
it's JUST A SEDAN.
please stop perpetuating the moronic naming games.
the CLS is a gorgeous, gorgeous car, but it's a sedan, period.
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Petey 5:00PM (5/06/2007)
VW will price it out of existence and it will fail in the marketplace if it ever comes out. VW still thinks its MB or Lexus.. it aint.
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asolar 5:33PM (5/06/2007)
This is from Websters online www.merriam-webster.com --
Coupe
"Etymology: French coupé, from past participle of couper to cut, strike
Date: 1825
1: a four-wheeled closed horse-drawn carriage for two persons inside with an outside seat for the driver in front
2 usually coupe : a 2-door automobile often seating only two persons; also : one with a tight-spaced rear seat — compare sedan"
Sedan
"Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1635
1: a portable often covered chair that is designed to carry one person and that is borne on poles by two people
2 a: a 2- or 4-door automobile seating four or more persons and usually having a permanent top — compare coupe b: a motorboat having one passenger compartment"
So, if this vehicle has tight rear seats, it can be called a coupe.
It's interesting how all definitions of sedan refer to a one-person vehicle, except for the automobile.
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hashiryu 5:55PM (5/06/2007)
Thank you mk..... I wish i could find the perosn who coined the term '4 door coupe' just to kick them in the nuts... really hard.
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Ligor 6:29PM (5/06/2007)
well all this 'coupe' talk is just a wast of time, words have been changing since we began to talk/write so get over it.
the car does look nice and hope the Passat follows suite. I just hope the rear end is not ugly like the VW Passat's one.
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Reality Check 6:37PM (5/06/2007)
It really means a car that has poor rear head room that would be killed if offerd by Ford or GM first.
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hosss 7:05PM (5/06/2007)
I always understood that a coupe was any car that lacked LOADBEARING B-pillars. Number of doors and number of seats being irrelevant. These cars have, at most, vestigial B-pillars, just to encompass the glass and hang doors off. Therefore they do qualify as coupes.
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