Volkswagen of America is showing this racy Passat in New York, equipped with an appearance package
derived from the Passat R GT concept that debuted at SEMA in November 2005. It seems
that the concept got such rave reviews that VW decided to offer the aesthetics portion of package as a factory option,
starting this fall.
Priced at $4,500, the VW-installed kit includes redesigned front and rear fascia, a
honeycomb grille, side skirts, a “harmonically integrated tailgate lip,” new exhaust tips, 18-inch
titanium-colored alloy wheels, 225/45 Pirelli high-performance tires, and performance lowering springs. The components
will also be available individually from any VW dealership.
Unfortunately, the option package
doesn’t include the 500 hp twin-turbo 3.2-liter V6 that nestled under the hood of the concept car – that’s
left up to you and your favorite tuner.
The Passat’s aggressive treatment comes to us courtesy of the
creative folks at VW’s “Moonraker” U.S. project group – the people who dreamed up the GX-3 three-wheeler.
Photos of the original SEMA-version R GT after the jump. For a ton of live shots of the production version, check
out VWVortex.com, here.
[Sources:
Volkswagen of America; VW Vortex]