Autoblog

Click the images to view the VW Passat CC in hi-res

Volkswagen has long since emerged from its standing as a no-frills straightforward automaker with a handful of products to offer a full range of vehicles, including hatchbacks, sedans of all sizes, wagons, vans, convertibles, sport coupes, SUVs, a four-door coupe and even an upcoming pickup truck. The German automaker is banking on that diversity to reach an ambitious sales goal of 6.6 million units per annum within ten years from now.

The svelte new Passat CC unveiled in Detroit will form a big part of the company's push, targeted to sell some 300,000 units around the world over the next six years...pretty ambitious for a niche vehicle, to be sure. Although reports suggest that Volkswagen could be dropping the Passat name from this vehicle (at least in the U.S.) in favor of the "CC" moniker alone, the latest information from the automaker itself (it's a European press release) continues to employ the well-established name, which is the third most popular nameplate in Volkswagen's history behind the Golf and Beetle. (Not to mention that the term CC could be confused with the coupe-convertible lexicon used overseas, like Volkswagen's own Eos.) Whatever it will be called, the new four-door coupe will launch in the Fall in markets across Europe, the Far East and North America, and to soften the ground for its landing, VW has laid on us a whole mess of information and new pictures. We're particularly intrigued by the range-topping Passat CC V6 4Motion, packed with all-wheel-drive, DSG and adaptive chassis control. Phaeton who now?

[Source: Volkswagen and Edmunds Auto Observer]

click above for more high-res images of the Volkswagen Passat CC

After months of informed speculation, Volkswagen finally revealed its CLS-inspired Passat, dubbed the "CC." The four-door "coupe" is based off the Passat platform and carries over several of the standard sedan's cues, but the sleek shape of the plummeting C-pillar, shortened rear overhang and revised fascia make it considerably more upmarket. The interior is up to V-Dub snuff, meaning plenty of premium materials and what one VW exec described as "intimate seating." And despite the stubby trunk lid, Volkswagen made a point to demonstrate that the CC can consume the international unit of boot measurement, two golf bags.

When the Passat CC goes on sale later this year, it will be fitted with the 3.6-liter FSI V6 making around 300 hp, along with three selectable chassis control systems, spanning the range from Sport to Normal and Comfort. In addition to a host of electronic gizmos, Volkswagen will begin offering its own version of the utterly sucktastic Park Assist feature on the CC, similar to the system used on the Lexus LS460.

Check the live and press pics in the gallery below, and make the jump to read VW's full press release.