It Came from Kyrgyzstan: Steel Drake’s Volkswagen Concept Sports Car

Imagine for a second that, in the very near future, Audi is facelifting the TT to look more like its big brother R8. Then, halfway through the project, Audi cans it and hands over all its sketches and prototyping model to Volkswagen which then decides to put the two-door coupe into production. Kyrgyzstanian graphic designer “Steel Drake” has created something very much fitting with this scenario

VIDEO: New VW Amarok Takes Down a 140 Tonne Chimney

Volkswagen marked the UK launch of its new Amarok truck with a rather unusual demonstration, using four pickups to demolish a gigantic, 67-meter (220 feet) tall steel chimney weighing in at around 140 tons. To complete a job that would normally have been done by a 40-ton excavator, structural engineers and demolition experts meticulously planned the task, undertaking a series of tests to see if

Volkswagen Reveals Polo R WRC Racer with 300HP [Video]

After months of rumors and whispers, Volkswagen officially announced that it will enter a factory team to the World Rally Championship starting with the 2013 season. The announcement was made in Italy, where journalists had the chance to take a first look at the car VW will throw in the competition, the 300HP Polo R WRC, shown here as a prototype. Read more »

Volkswagen’s Little Darth Vader Uses the Force on the European Passat

Unless you've been living in some oddball world where the internet doesn't exist - in which case, you wouldn’t be reading this anyway (…), you’ve undoubtedly seen Volkswagen’s much praised Super Bowl commercial starring a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the new, North American-spec 2012 Passat. Having garnered close to 40 million views on Youtube on VW USA’s channel

VW Releases Mega Gallery of the New Golf Cabriolet

Following its Geneva show world premiere in March, Volkswagen has now released a comprehensive photo gallery of its new Golf Cabriolet. Featuring a fully automatic soft top that retracts in 9 seconds and up to speeds of 30 km/h (18.6 mph), the Golf Cabriolet continues the tradition of its three predecessors, produced between 1979 and 2002 in over 680,000 units. Read more »

2012 Volkswagen Beetle Filmed out in the Open in Texas

In what could be one of the first public sightings of the brand new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle outside of a motor show, Youtube user JWalters84 passed by and filmed his short encounter with the car on a road in Laredo, Texas. What was it doing there? Well, who knows, but it's safe to assume that it’s probably a pre-production model used either by dealers or by VW Group employees since sales of the

VW Remembers its First Diesel-Powered Golf, we Compare it with its Modern Day Successors

In 1976, just two years after the introduction of the original Golf Mk1 that was designed to replace the Beetle, Volkswagen presented the first diesel version of its compact model, the Golf D. It was powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder diesel engine that put out 50HP at 5,000 rpm and 80Nm (59 lb-ft) of peak torque at 3,000 rpm. The most economical Golf of its time returned a combined fuel

Seat Rumored to Start Production of Audi Q3-based SUV in 2012

It seems that the VW Group’s Martorell plant in Spain will not only build the new Audi Q3, but a similar version of the compact SUV for Seat as well, according to a report from British car magazine, What Car. Industry sources told the publication that the Seat IBX crossover study shown at Geneva this year will be built in the same plant with the Audi Q3, with both models to share the same

Kylie Minogue Promotes the 2012 VW Golf Cabriolet in New Ad

It appears that carmakers have a love-connection with Australian pop singer, Kylie Minogue. Following a recent collaboration with Lexus for the European launch of the Lexus CT200h, the Melbourne-born star signed an advertising partnership with Volkswagen to promote the new Golf Cabriolet. Minogue has already filmed the first TV commercial for Wolfsburg's new convertible model that aired in

New Audi R8 Print Ad: "A Sporty Car Full of History"

Longtime VW Group advertising partner DBB has come up with a new print advertisement for the Audi R8 to highlight the brand’s rich sports car heritage. The print ad, which is the creative work of DDB Barcelona, plays on the tag-line “Audi R8: A sporty car full of history” and shows a cut of the R8 coupe incorporating three racing models from Audi’s past including the Ur-Quattro rally car, and

Volkswagen Group Mulls New Low Cost Brand for China

At last week’s Shanghai Auto Show 2011, the Volkswagen Group expanded its China portfolio with the official introduction of the Seat brand to the world’s largest car market. However, the German giant has more plans in store for China as the VW Group is considering the creation of a low cost brand to break through the country’s popular entry-level segment. "We are currently evaluating with our

Little Thor: Marvel’s Spoof on VW’s Little Darth Vader Commercial

When everybody starts making parodies of your commercial, you know you have a hit in your hands. Remember Volkswagen’s Little Darth Vader advert with the North American market Passat that aired during this year’s Super Bowl Sunday? After the Toyota Corolla parody, we have yet another spoof on VW’s successful creation, this time from Marvel Studios to promote its upcoming movie, Thor. The

Volkswagen Introduces New Accessories for the Touareg

Volkswagen has launched a new range of aftermarket accessories for the Touareg SUV. Among other features, there’s a new underbody protection kit for the front and the back of the Touareg. Available in a two-tone design (black and silver), the kit promises to protect the underbody of the SUV from solid objects as well as from heavy dirt. Buyers can also opt for wide plastic protections for the

2012 VW Beetle in the Flesh with New Gallery and Videos

We reported on the unveiling of the all-new 2012 Beetle yesterday, but since then we got our hands on a slew of fresh photos shot during the presentation of the car in Shanghai, as well as in Manhattan, New York, and Berlin in Germany. For the most part, the first reviews on the ‘less flower, more power’ styling direction of the New Beetle’s replacement in general do appear to be on the

2012 VW Beetle Configurator Goes Live, Plus New Photo Gallery

Dreaming of a new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle? Well, if you live in Europe or North America, you’ll have to wait until this October and September respectively to grab one, but for those of you in a hurry to see what your 2012 Beetle could look like, VW’s configurator is available for everyone to play with on the firm’s German website. Unfortunately though, at the time, the options are limited to a