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VW talks of expansion; Frankfurt concepts to receive study

By MARK VAUGHN for AutoWeek

Volkswagen chief Bernd Pischetsrieder is looking at the possibility of building a retractable hardtop model positioned between the Jetta and Passat, as well as “something between the Passat and Phaeton.â€

Something? “It will not be a traditional sedan, not a coupe, not even a four-door coupe,†says Pischetsrieder. To further confuse the issue, he did say that such a vehicle may use a Maserati transaxle.

Beetles reunion

Even though a fifth-generation Golf is in the offing, the current VW Beetle and the Jetta wagon will continue to be built on the Golf 4 platform “for a long time,†said VW North America chief Jens Neumann. As for a redesign of the New Beetle, Neumann said, “You can’t, you would kill it. You can make some changes here and there but you can’t do a redesign. There are life spans of the Beetle that don’t apply to normal cars. The Beetle is not a car, it is a friend that lives in the garage.â€

Microbus Multivan

In other VW news, company officials say they’ve signed off on the design of the VW Microbus based on the platform currently under the European Multivan, with production slated for 2006.

Polo anyone?

It’s a long shot, but Neumann said that if the new Golf 5, shown recently at the Frankfurt auto show, turns out to be “an extraordinary success†in the States, that would indicate a trend toward hatchbacks. And if there’s a trend toward hatchbacks, then we would get the Polo.

VW, Audi play coy with concepts

Will the Audi Le Mans come to America? “We are seriously considering it,†said Audi chief Len Hunt at the Frankfurt Auto Show. “There’s a distinct request for a car like that.†Hunt said the Le Mans would cost less than a Gallardo and could be priced at Porsche Turbo levels.

And will Volkswagen’s concept R see the light of day?

“If we get enough positive response we can do it,†said Pischetsrieder. “We need to add a little excitement to Volkswagen. Pischetsrieder said such a car, along with the Touareg and Phaeton, would help move VW upscale.

“We want to move Volkswagen toward the top end of the market and not so much the mass market.â€

Neumann said if it’s produced, Concept R would be in an annual volume of “at least 50,000.†Pischetsrieder was asked about a retail price for a production version of the concept R, specifically if $30,000 would be good. He said, “That sounds good.â€

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