We’ve been hearing a lot about the Volkswagen Beetle lately and even though it’s not the most summer oriented of vehicles, it still has some news to share with us.
The latest of which is possibly the best for the performance enthusiast within each and every one of them, it is an “R” version of the 2012 VW Beetle.
In the world of Volkswagen, anything wearing an R badge doesn’t make sense to just about most of the regular buyers of the brand but it also means there’s quite the car underneath.
Most likely to premiere at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show the R version of the 2012 VW Beetle would be powered by a similar engine to the raunchy Golf R.
That means the retro model that’s to be launched in Frankfurt will be powered by a 2.0 liter four cylinder TSI turbocharged powerplant developing in the region of 240 horsepower.
For various cost reasons, the Germans are not going to be giving you the 4motion four wheel drive system with the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle R so there’s the issue of torque steer to discuss.
At 270 horsepower (as offered in the Golf R) a front wheel drive would struggle immensely to contain the fury of that turbocharger without some sort of clever differential and such.
Now that we understand why the power was slightly limited, we may as well enjoy how the Golf R will offer around 40 horsepower more than the most powerful version of the current 2012 Volkswagen Beetle.
Apart from the new engine, there’s also going to be a new sports suspension and a batch of interior and exterior styling tweaks meant to accentuate the added aggression.
I do hope that when they launch it, in Frankfurt or whatever, the Volkswagen Beetle R will look decent and relatively easily digestible, something the people at VWVortex aren’t that familiar with.
Interestingly, that’s not the only good news Volkswagen has for us. Apparently, they are considering chopping the roof of it and eventually producing a Beetle R Convertible version.
The price, availability and other boring real-world details will come some time in September, just before or at the Frankfurt Motor Show. By then, it’s quite likely that the Germans will have decided on the fate of the convertible as well.
