Can "R" be to VW what "AMG" is to Mercedes and "M" used to be to BMW? VW seems serious about making it just that. So serious, in fact, that they've named this color "Serious Grey." But can a cuddly new, new Volkswagen Beetle R be taken seriously?
Believe it or not, but this thing is still a concept car. Wink, wink, nudge nudge. You're right in noticing that it looks distinctly production-ready. Expect VW to roll it out with a price tag and a power figure (240 HP?) some time in the new year.
The R is differentiated from the standard 2012 Volkswagen Beetle by the same wheels as the Scirocco R and Golf R, just here they're 20 instead of 19 inches. Blue brake calipers are visible through the five triple spokes. The front and rear bumpers are now 1.2 inches wider and styled much more aggressively. That big lower grille feeds both the engine and the brakes with cool air. There's also that massive rear wing, which VW claims does actually generate downforce. Which, you know FWD cars are massively in need of. There's also quad exhausts. Because quad exhausts.
Inside, there's racing buckets covered in grey nubuck, and special clocks that relocate the tach to front and center. VW says, "like a sports car's."
All this is designed to ensure that you can pull off driving a new, new Beetle without the entire population of Alabama thinking you're one of dem dar ‘murika hating homersexuals. Any Alabamian viewers (we're assuming they're not readers) care to chime in as to its success in doing so?