Volkswagen confirmed working on a hot
version of the Arteon more than two years ago, not long after the CC’s
successor broke cover, and it seems that they have finally approved it for
production. This new R model will sit at the top of the range was spied testing
in the cold, with thin stickers hiding some of the changes gained over the usual
models, including a small facelift.
The bumper has been modified to house
bigger air intakes, while at the back, it sports a more aggressive diffuser
with incorporated rectangular exhaust pipes. The prototype also had drilled
brakes at the front, hugged by the blue calipers.
VW’s 3.0-liter VR6 twin-turbocharged
engine is believed to be the icing on the cake. If the rumor is correct, then
it will push out around 400 horsepower to the two axles through a DSG
transmission. With the extra muscle, the top-of-the-line Arteon R’s 0-100 km/h acceleration should drop to around 4 seconds.
The current U.S.-spec model is powered by
a 268 HP and 350 Nm)of torque 2.0-liter turbocharged engine,
paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission, with the 4Motion all-wheel
drive system available in all but the base SE. There’s no way of knowing
whether the R will make its way to this side of the Atlantic Ocean, subsequent
to the unveiling expected this summer. If it does, we wouldn’t be surprised if
it came with a price tag close to the US$ 50,000 mark, given that the current SEL
Premium R-Line spec has an MSRP of US$ 46,210.
It will be even more expensive in Europe,
where the new R-Line limited edition can be had from € 55,970 (US$ 60,538) and has
to make do with the outgoing petrol and diesel four-pots, with outputs ranging
from 190 to 272 PS.
