WOLFSBURG / BERLIN, Germany - It is the child of a new era. Its name: Concept A. A Volkswagen with all wheel drive, a cross between a sports car and SUV, with a design that is as powerful as it is aesthetic and that posses best all round features. Volkswagen celebrates its world premier in Berlin. The premier for the public will follow at the Geneve Automobile Salon in late February. The Concept A stands for a progressive design-philosophy. Its front part with a new 3D crest radiator grill made out of brushed aluminum and distinguished headlights form a congenial yet competent and confident progressive appearance. The "face" is well known, just not on an automobile, it looks like the mirror image of a cheetah. The silhouette shows the lines of a coupe. The front and rear doors open facing each other. The carriage overhangs are briskly short, the hood long, and the C columns one of a kind. 20-inch alloy rims and 295 tires fill out the space in the distinctively extended wheelhouses.
Full load and plenty of light: Concept A's finish is colored in the intense blue tone of glacier formations and is called "Glacier metallic". Added are glass flakes, which enhance the depth of the paint applied in a piano lacquer technique. The rear part, with its athletic flanks, imparts a strong elegance. The hatchback is built in tailgate-style and can be opened in two steps: the area under the rear lights swings out like a pick-up loading surface and thus creates a lot of room for big items. At the bottom the motor exhales via two round chrome pipes. The interior presents itself spacious and open. Light and air dominate the feel of the space. If needed, a large soft top can be swerved all the way back to the C column.
Motors any way you like, but with all wheel drive: The study shown in Berlin is powered by a 110 kW (150 hp) strong Twincharger (TSI), whose motto is "maximum driving pleasure, minimum consumption". Its power reaches the wheels via a six-gear transmission and an all wheel drive 4MOTION. A turbo diesel direct fuel injection (TDI) with diesel particle filter, the FSI Turbo of the Golf GTI (147 kW / 200 hp) and much more could also be used. Studies can do and are allowed anything.
Viable dream: The Concept A is the vision of an ideal Volkswagen. One of many variations of the future. They are all connected by one claim: Volkswagen, like the Concept A, has to be feasible for many customers and expand the model spectrum according to customer's needs.
SUV-Coupe: Presented worldwide for the first time in Berlin, the Concept A optically accompanies the leap of the Volkswagen brand into the future. Conceptually the design team used a point of attack coming from the ever-growing de-fragmentation of the segments. Result: if up till now the SUV's put the advantages of the steep hatchback in the forefront, the Concept A, with its coupe like rear part, underlines a more classic dynamic. Here the design combines the no compromise elegance of a sports car with the demonstrative robustness of an off road model. A fun machine and high everyday efficiency, a sports car with travel qualities, a coupe with station wagon features. The design of the 4.35 meter long, 1.85 meter wide and 1.55 meter high Concept A in detail:?
Concept A - Design Silhouette
Evolution of pure dynamic: Here the VW language of the new era, recently continued with the Passat and Eos, finds another courageous step in evolution. Hereby the Concept A shows pure dynamic. Rising lines in the side graphic and the controlled interchange of surfaces and forms, but especially the sensational proportions reflect this dynamic and strength. Whoever moves around the car will always find new exciting modulations and accents; the design of the Concept A literally plays with the light.
Big wheels: The 20 inch wheels with their 295 tires distributed on a wheelbase of 2.6 meters give the impression of strength and power. The radial spoke motive of the rims optically additionally enhances the diameter. The spokes lying on top of each other in two parts continue the dominant theme of 3D and appear to be floating in the rim.Sharp proportions: The hood is extremely long, the back extremely short. Compact in any case are the carriage overhangs: In the front the axle is followed by 0.93 meter, in the rear its only 0.82 meter. The volume in between is distinguished by a prominent design element: The strong molding of the side skirts. Its concave transition to the surface is combined with a line at shoulder height. Sillboards, wheel arches and fenders melt to a muscular and excitement loaded form variety. Furthermore: What starts as a discrete line in the front part of the silhouette at the height of the A column, develops towards the rear to a continuously stronger modeled shoulder in the style of very classic and timeless sports cars. Formally described this shoulder line captures the light and gives the C column, which is harmonically combined with the chassis body, its very own graphic of a stretched triangle. Subjectively described, the incomparable C column shows speed and a crisp linkage in the perhaps sharpest and most dynamic rear part of any study ever presented by Volkswagen.
Who needs a B column? A contrast to the almost sensuous form is the graphic strictness of the door groove. The doors face each other. The reason: the functional advantages of the generous entry and the spectacular picture of the open door wings. There is no room for a B column. Detailed haptical and formal perfection let the door handles of both wings optically appear as one. Its outer surfaces are held in brushed aluminum while polished upper marks the interior surfaces. Because of their form and position the door handles of the Concept A suggest a two-door coupe. This impression is enhanced by the roof contours. The flat and stretched black covered roof covers the very low windows of the sports car silhouette.