Volkswagen Special Editions Cars

The Volkswagen Passat is officially dead in the United States. Well, not quite yet, but it’s definitely taking its last breaths as Volkswagen prepares the Chattanooga plant in Tennessee for production of the Atlas, Atlas Cross, and all-electric ID.4. As the U.S. market bids farewell to the Passat, it’s going to honor it in the only way it knows how – a special edition. The car you see here is just one of four configurations, with a total of 1,973 examples being built. Why 1,973? Because 1973 was the first year the Passat was offered.

Volkswagen will produce 411 examples of the Passat special edition in a combination of Aurora Red Metallic with a Titan Black interior. This model represents the original production code of the Passat – 411. Next, there will be 423 examples of the passat finished in Racing Green Metallic with a Mauro Brown interior. 423 represents the Chattanooga, TN area code. Another version finished in Pure White with Mauro Brown interior will be produced in just 524 examples, representing the opening date of the Chattanooga plant: May 24, 2011. Finally, the fourth iteration of the Passat special edition will be offered in Grey Metallic with a Titan Black interior. 615 represents six generations of imported Passats (6), one generation assembled in Chattanooga (1), and 5 decades of U.S. sales (5).

Outside of the exclusive exterior paint and interior theme, there’s not a whole lot to set the Passat special edition apart from the pack. The seats inside will feature a “x of 1973” tag on one side and “Chattanooga 2011” on the other. Comfort sports seats will come standard with Vienna leather while the exterior will ride on distinctive 18-inch, fifteen-spoke wheels. Pricing for the Passat special edition comes in at $30,295 but the Aurora Red Metallic will add an extra $395 to the ticket.

Volkswagen has brought back one of its most famous colorways for a one-off showcase that’s sure to delight — and somewhat disappoint — fans who have lived long enough to remember the famous color scheme. Twenty-five years ago, Volkswagen launched the Polo Harlequin — it was called the “Harlekin” in Germany — to tremendous fanfare. The Polo Harlequin ended up being such a big hit that Volkswagen turned it into a limited-run production model.

Fast forward to 2021 and Volkswagen Netherlands decided to tap into the old magic well, bringing back the Harlequin name and colors on a one-off 2021 Volkswagen Polo.

For over 40 years the Golf has been defining and refining the hatchback formula. With generation eight, we get plenty of performance. And with the recent rise in performance in the hot hatch scene, the German brand had to bring a bigger gun in order to stay competitive. The Golf GTI Clubsport Mk8 is tailored specifically to the harsh terrain of the Nordschleife. Could they have made the ultimate hot hatch, or is it just an overly stiff grocery-getter? Let’s find out.

Less than a month after the company launched the facelifted version, Volkswagen is all set to launch the sporty variant of the Passat Estate at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The Passat Variant R-Line Edition comes with a lot of new goodies and will certainly induce the younger folks’ interest. The company has announced that the R-Line edition will be limited to just 2,000 units!

The new 2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI is just right. Presented at the 2019 Chicago Motor Show, the new hot Volkswagen compact sedan gained the much-needed overhaul with a fine upgrade that came from none other than the parts bins of the Golf GTI and the Golf R. It is a thoroughly improved car, with a 2.0-liter, turbocharged, gasoline engine, a fresh new look, and a far more advanced suspension compared to the lesser units. Let me just say it - rear multi-link. It has it.

With the new model introduced in Chicago, Volkswagen USA officials actually noted that the new car will come with two trim levels, while the limited edition GLI 35 serves as sort of a high-end model of the GLI world.

Now, we’ve already learned a lot about the new Volkswagen Jetta GLI, but what about the Volkswagen Jetta GLI35?

The Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR is a hardcore GTI focused at amateur track day enthusiasts, and it’s heavily inspired by one thing - the TCR competition. No, it is not a race car, but a production, roadworthy hot hatch that spruced out of a four year long TCR competition. Volkswagen has been part of the TCR touring car series since 2016 with the awesome GTI based racer.

Since the inaugural TCR season in 2015, the TCR touring car series saw a number of cool entries. Including the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR, the Subaru WRX TCR, and, as you may have noticed if you followed our coverage of the 2019 Detroit Motor Show, the Hyundai Veloster N TCR. It is quite an impressive competition that already gave birth to some cool cars. Like the N badged Hyundais for example.

Back on the streets, the new Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR will fight its fight against the Hyundai i30 N, the Honda Civic Type R (also in the TCR competition), the Renault Megane RS and the RS Trophy, among many others.

The Volkswagen Golf is one of the most popular models in the company’s lineup. To make it even better, the automaker has decided to replace the SE and the SE Navigation trims with a better, value-for-money variant, dubbed Match edition. However, these changes are limited to the U.K. market for the time being.

After eight years on the market in this generation, and 22 years since the nameplate was revived in Europe and North America, the Volkswagen Beetle is going into the history books for the second time. With production set to end in 2019, the German firm is bidding farewell to the funky two-door with a Final Edition model. The last of the A5-generation Beetle made its public debut at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Volkswagen is rolling out a special new package for the Tiguan. It’s called the Black Style R-Line Design Package, and it’s made up of aesthetic upgrades for the automaker’s resident crossover. The Black Style R-Line Design Package is available with the Tiguan’s Comfort and Highline specification packages. It costs €3,365 in Germany, though the price could go up if you want to upgrade your wheels. That’s about $3,840 based on current exchange rates.

Volkswagen celebrates the 30th anniversary of its sun-chasing California campervan with a special edition model of which only 999 examples will be built with a choice of three engines. The 30th anniversary Californias will be priced at $83,570 in the U.K.

Originally, Westfalia was the company that converted a variety of Volkswagen vans for use as mobile campers - which were known as VW Californias. This tradition dates back to 1988, but it all ceased in 2001 when Westfalia was bought by Daimler-Chrysler. From that point on, Volkswagen manufactured their own campervans with help from the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles arm.

Other automakers need to learn from Volkswagen when it comes to how to keep a model fresh, no matter how old it is. Volkswagen introduced the 2019 GTI Rabbit Edition in the U.S., which feels like a tribute to the original iteration of the hatchback. It will be slotted between the base ‘S’ trim and mid ‘SE’ trim.

Volkswagen has unveiled the 2019 Beetle Final Edition a day after leaked VIN documents indicated that the German automaker was planning to roll out the special edition model to commemorate the Beetle’s three-generation, 70-year run. The 2019 Beetle Final Edition will be available in SE and SEL trims. It will also be available in coupe and convertible versions. Pricing for the SE and SEL coupe starts at $23,940 and $26,890, respectively, while pricing for the SE and SEL convertible versions starts at $28,190 and $30,890, respectively.

Volkswagen may have inadvertently confirmed the end of the Beetle’s production run after a leaked VIN document revealed that its 2019 model lineup of the Bug will feature a “Final Edition” model. According to the document, Volkswagen will offer the 2019 Beetle in four different trim levels. While that itself isn’t interesting, two of the four trim levels are the Final Edition SE and the Final Edition SEL. The other two trim levels — S and SE — likely represent the lower-range versions of the 2019 Beetle.

I find it unsettling to call a car the 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition. The name Rabbit actually was an official designation in the U.S. for the car otherwise known as the Golf. In some strange world of mine, the name of this new car sounds like Golf GTI Golf Edition. Nonsense aside, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition celebrates the Rabbit nameplate and it may be one of the last specials of the Volkswagen Golf GTI for this generation. In the name of exclusivity, Volkswagen announced it capped the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition to only 3,000 units (they’ll sell it all really fast) and it will make it available throughout the country. So hurry up.

Volkswagen has revealed the new Tiguan Offroad. It is a new version of the super popular compact crossover now drizzled with features and solutions that make it far more suitable for off-roading tasks than before. Revealed at the Moscow Auto Show, the Tiguan Offroad brought numerous improvements over the standard Tiguan which grant the small Volkswagen with some capabilities that I would only expect from SUVs and vehicles that actually intend to go where the road ends in the first place.

Exactly one year ago, Volkswagen revealed a camper dubbed the California XXL Concept. It was an early look at a production model they actually put into production just now. Scheduled for live unveiling at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon that will start later this month, the Volkswagen Grand California is a production version of the last year’s concept and it is every bit of awesome as you may imagine. Forget about the Airstream, or anything similar. This is better, but you can’t have it because Volkswagen Commercial vehicles aren’t available in the U.S.

The Touareg and Tiguan have been so successful in their first years on the market that Volkswagen decided to expand its crossover lineup with at least three new models. One of them is the T-Roc, and it’s the company’s smallest SUV until the T-Cross arrives. Built on the ubiquitous MQB platform, the T-Roc slots under the Tiguan and it’s related to the Audi Q2 and Seat Arona. Developed to compete with popular subcompact crossovers like the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur, Toyota C-HR and many more, the T-Roc is now also available in R-Line spec, Volkswagen’s top trim outside the GTI and R models.

Now available on a wide range of cars, the R-Line package is both sporty and stylish, creating a unique look that you can’t get with the usual options. This is available for the T-Roc too, which gets sportier bumpers front and rear, while a the body-colored elements from the sides and around back make the crossover look less rugged. It’s a bit far-fetched to say that the T-Roc R-Line is more elegant than the standard model, because not many SUVs are, but I must admit that the small SUV looks really well with body-colored side skirts and rear apron. As usual, the engines are shared with the standard model, but Volkswagen added a bespoke suspension setup for a sportier ride. Let’s find out more below.

Continue reading to learn more about the Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line.

The Volkswagen Atlas made its public debut at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show as the company’s largest SUV to date. A three-row SUV with plenty of room for seven people, the Atlas rides on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, which is shared with the slightly smaller Skoda Kodiaq. As the crossover is being prepared to arrive in dealerships in the Spring of 2017, Volkswagen unveils the Weekend Edition at the 2017 Chicago Auto Show.

Designed to demonstrate how the Atlas can be "enhanced with smart accessories," the Weekend Edition is actually more of a concept car rather than a limited-edition model scheduled for production. Volkswagen says it is inspired by the “Weekender” packages offered on the classic Vanagon and Eurovan pop-up camper models and integrates several accessories that enhance the its versatility.

Simply put, Volkswagen is preparing the Atlas for a tough North American market disputed by offerings from Ford, General Motors, and FCA, by matching the vast customization options buyers can get for Detroit-made SUVs. We’ve seen a similar strategy at Chevrolet recently, with many almost production-ready concept sporting upcoming accessories and features.

Many of the accessories showcased on this conceptual Atlas will be available from Volkswagen dealers when the Atlas goes on sale in Spring 2017. Let’s see what the Germans are offering in the review below.

Continue reading to learn more about the Volkswagen Atlas Weekend Edition.

The Volkswagen Golf may not be regarded as a flagship model but it is an important one to the German automaker as it continues to pick up the pieces left behind by the disaster that was Dieselgate. With the model having recently undergone a facelift, the Golf is beginning to exude confidence again, which is likely a big reason why Wolfsburg is releasing a new optional R-Line package specifically for the hatchback and wagon versions of the company’s little mighty mouse of a car.

Nope, the Volkswagen Atlas isn’t the only one getting the R-Line treatment. The Golf is getting one too, and judging by the options included in this particular package, there are plenty of them to go by for discerning would-be Golf owners. Exterior and interior upgrades abound in the Golf R-Line, most of them coming in aesthetic and cosmetic varieties. Some of these options come with aerodynamic improvements too so that’s another pretty important selling point, especially when you take into account one of the R-Line package’s most important attributes.

Essentially, think of the Golf R-Line in the vein of the model’s range-topping variant, the Golf R, minus the extra power that the latter has at its disposal. The Golf R-Line doesn’t carry the same power and performance numbers as the actual Golf R, but at the very least, the package helps the Golf look a lot like its more powerful sibling. That in itself makes the Golf R-Line that more appealing because ultimately, if you can’t add on to a car’s power numbers., might as well just make the said car look the part of one instead.

Continue after the jump to read more about the Volkswagen Golf R-Line Package.

It might be hard to believe, but it’s been 40 years since a group of German engineers, managers, and enthusiasts met in a room and created the Golf GTI – one of the hottest hatchbacks to ever grace the roads we drive on. Since 2001, VW has launched an anniversary model of the Golf GTI every five years to commemorate the amazing hatch, and this year it’s launching the Golf GTI Clubsport Edition 40 – a special hatch with a few bespoke features, a mild power upgrade, and a special feature to give you a little extra pep in your step when you need just a little extra juice.

The Clubsport 40 should come as big news for those who were hoping to get their hands on the Golf GTI Clubsport S that was produced in just 150 examples in the U.K. This model is being produced in 1,000 examples, so there a bigger chance you’ll get one. And with that extra bump of juice, it comes pretty close to the 306-horsepower output of the Clubsport S. We haven’t had a chance to get our hands on one of these special-edition models yet, but word is that performance is right on point, and there’s more than just a special-edition badge to set this baby apart from the crowd.

With that said, let’s dive on in and take a good look at this special edition model before all iterations of it are snatched off of the market as well.

Continue reading to learn more about the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport Edition 40.

Remember when Volkswagen showed off the Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Wave Concept at the 2015 New York Auto Show, along with the Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Denim Concept, the Volkswagen Beetle R-Line Concept, and the Volkswagen Beetle Pink Color Edition? Some of them were just fun concepts, but the Pink Color Edition wasn’t there to snap up attention. Apparently, according to VW, dealers in the U.S. and China get frequent requests a pink Beetle. Well, the Pink Color Edition must have been a big hit because, for the 2017 model year, VW is releasing a limited edition Beetle in pink livery called the #PinkBeetle.

After looking at the images of the #PinkBeetle, and looking back at the 2015 concept, I’m pretty sure there is a joke to be told. Not because it’s Pink, but because VW apparently doesn’t know how to make an exterior shade of pink. See, the concept was more like a Magenta color, and the new #PinkBeetle looks almost red, despite the exterior finish being called “Fresh Fuchsia Metallic.” Of course, don’t tear into VW too bad yet, as there is plenty of real pink on the inside to make you happy.

I’m trying to recall a time when I’ve ever heard anyone say they wanted a pink beetle, and I honestly can’t say I have outside of the one girl who dropped a comment about wanting one on the original concept review a couple of years ago. Regardless, this limited-edition model is slated to go on sale later this fall, so let’s dive on in and see what VW did to make it worthy of being a limited-edition model.

Continue reading to learn more about the 2017 Volkswagen #PinkBeetle.