With a launch in 3 major car markets, the Volkswagen group hopes that the new lower, wider and sleeker Beetle will be a major hit. With China now the biggest market for Volkswagen, they are hoping that Chinese car buyers will fall in love with this new Beetle which is scheduled to go on sale in a few months. The 2012 Beetle is bigger by a notable amount: 168.4 inches long, up 6 in.; 71.2 in. wide, up 3.3 in. VW says it adopted the engine lineup straight from other small VWs, such as Golf and Jetta, because it believes those powerplants are competitive and “it saves a lot of money” vs. designing new engines, says Luca de Meo, head of global VW marketing.
The engine lineup:
Base: 2.5-liter, five-cylinder petrol vs. 1.8-liter four in last model. The engine is rated 170 hp, 177 lbs/ft of torque.
Optional: 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, rated 200 hp, 207 lbs/ft.
Coming later as option: 2-liter turbo-diesel, 140 hp, 236 lb/ft.
The new design has moved more towards male drivers as the previous version was tagged more as a ladies car. VW does not want to discount their female owners, just wants a tackle a larger audience with this Beetle.
