Volkswagen has been readying a Tesla Model 3-fighting electric sedan for quite some time now, and our spy photographers were able to capture the latest prototype, tentatively named “Aero B”, testing out on the roads of Germany. At first glance, the front seems to feature a Jetta-esque grille, but upon closer inspection, it’s actually just a sticker. In all likelihood, the front will have similar looks to the ID.4 crossover, with the only real graphics being a single line connecting the headlights. We can also see that the true design of those headlights is hidden by stickers, so it’s likely their final design will resemble the ID.4 as well.
Lower down, there are also more stickers
on the side intakes to make them appear larger than they actually are. Given
that, the production version of this car will likely only feature slim air
curtains, with the majority of the space around them being body-colored.
Rounding off the front end is a central intake along the bottom of the bumper
that looks to serve as this car’s only undisguised opening. Moving at the back,
the overall profile of the car is sleek and aerodynamic, which isn’t all that
surprising considering how significantly drag impacts an electric vehicle’s
range. Other than that, the side graphics are standard Volkswagen, but new
design details come in the form of flush door handles and an
uncharacteristically sharp point at the rear of the window line.
On to the rear of the vehicle, like the
headlights, the true design of the taillights is obscured by stickers as well,
and since all the vehicles in VW’s ID lineup so far have been hatchbacks, we
don’t really have a reference as to what the taillights on a sedan like this
would look like. Going off the faint outline under the stickers, they don’t seem
to be the same shape as the ID.4’s, but they do bear a resemblance to the
ID.3‘s squarer units. However, another crease under the covered upper trunk
suggests that VW could go the route of a full-width light bar as seen on the
ID. Space Vizzion concept. The rest of the rear is similar in design to the
Jetta, albeit with slightly taller proportions, and there’s another sticker
with fake exhaust pipes covering what will likely just be plastic trim on the
production car.
As for what’s powering this vehicle, it’s
up in the air at the moment. The ID. Space Vizzion concept featured an 82 kWh
battery pack and a rear-mounted electric motor that made 275 hp, and it was good for 590 km of range on the WLTP cycle and 483 km of range on the EPA cycle. There were also talks of a dual-motor
all-wheel-drive version developing a combined output of 335 hp and a 0-96 km/h time of 5.0 seconds.
However, the more likely option is that
the car will borrow the ID.4’s powertrain offerings. The first of those
includes a single-motor RWD setup with an 82 kWh battery that makes 201 hp, and it’s good for 522 km of range on the WLTP cycle and 418 km on the EPA cycle. The second, more potent option is the
dual-motor AWD setup with the same 82 kWh battery, which makes 295 hp and is good for 482 km of range on the WLTP cycle and 401 km on the EPA cycle. Production of the sedan, which has yet to be
given an official name, is slated to begin at Volkswagen’s Emden plant in 2023.
It’s unclear as to when in the year that will take place, but customer
deliveries will likely commence within the following months.