Volkswagen Aero B Caught Looking Like a Passat-Arteon Mashup
This isn’t a Passat, nor is it a replacement. In fact, it may not even be a sedan at all
by Robert Moore, on LISTEN 02:44The Volkswagen Passat isn’t as dead as the media would lead you to believe, and the Aero B – a Passat-sized EV – isn’t going to replace it right away. In fact, the ICE-powered Passat will see one more generational shift that should keep it on the market, at least in some places, until the end of the decade. At that point, it will probably be replaced by the second-generation Aero B, but that’s still 8 years from now and we’re getting ahead of ourselves, so let’s take a look at these new spy shots of the Volkswagen Aero B.
It’s A Passat, It’s an Arteon…….It’s Not a Sedan?
The prototype that you see here was reportedly caught testing in the Austrian Alps, and it does seem to have a production body shell, but VW engineers have gone above and beyond to conceal certain features. The “grille” up front Is covered with a sticker of the Passat’s grille, and the same can be said for the headlights. There are even stickers over the lower part of the fascia to conceal the actual design there too. The door handles, which are undoubtedly flush with the doors are also wearing stickers, as are the taillights and the fake exhaust tips. Clearly, VW is doing its best to make this car look like a Passat, even if that’s not what it is. We didn’t receive confirmation, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it was emitting an artificial soundtrack to cover up its electric nature too.
More important than any of this, however, is the other thing we spotted in the rear. As the car that was allegedly replacing the Passat, it was expected to be a sedan. However, the rear end seems too short for this to be a traditional sedan, and it looks more like a liftback – essentially a smaller Arteon. Now, there is one pressing question, and that’s how we know this is an EV – there are none of the usual electric stickers. If you look closely, though, you can see that this prototype is bulkier than both the Passat and Arteon, a necessary compromise for housing the battery and electric motors. For what it’s worth, this probably won’t hit production as the “Aero B” and will likely be a member of the ID family.
As for performance, the car should be offered in base form with a single-motor layout and rear-wheel action. A more powerful dual-motor, AWD GTX model like those offered for the ID.4 and ID.5 will also be available. That model should make the 62-mph sprint in 5.6 seconds, which will be pretty impressive for a car this size and this heavy. The production version of the Aero B is expected to launch in 2023 after the ID. Buzz is finally released.
Source: Picture credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
