The Volkswagen Arteon does not sell. Same ol’ sotry: Sedans are dying because of crossovers, blah, blah. Whatever. The rise of the CUV hasn’t stopped Honda from selling nearly 200,000 Accords last year or Toyota and nearly 300,000 Camrys. But the Arteon doesn’t get attention like that; it sells in sports-car-like numbers. VW only moved 3,998 last year and so far this year only 1,100 have been sold. Even a niche product like the Kia Stinger has moved over 5,000. So to get people’s attention, VW made an Arteon special edition concept that’s making its rounds.
Called the Arteon “Big Sur” concept, it’s part of VW’s 2021 Enthusiasts Fleet that also includes a Blue Lagoon GLI and Tiguan SE R-Line Black RiNo concepts. To design the car, Volkswagen Enthusiast and Motorsport Marketing Specialist Sean Maynard worked with two Southern California tuners: FMS Automotive and Rotiform.
The concept is inspired by the famous stretch of the California coast, hence the name Big Sur. Designers started with a Urano Gray Arteon SEL Premium R-Line and wrapped it in a green that draws inspiration from a Golf R Concept Rotiform had at SEMA in 2019.
From there, 20-inch Rotiform TUF-R wheels on Continental tires, a lowering kit that dropped the car half an inch and a custom body kit that includes front splitters and a rear spoiler round out the exterior. VW says 50 to 60 hours of work was done on the car. I assume nothing has been done to the interior because it’s not even mentioned or shown.
Even the tuners seem to be aware that no one pays attention to the Arteon. Gil Plasencia of FMS Automotive said “The Arteon is a hidden gem in the Volkswagen line-up. We wanted the car to stop people in their tracks, and announce, ‘I’m here!”
That kind of sucks because the Arteon is a good, handsome car. There’s no word on whether or not this concept will be put into production.