2012 VW Beetle

[Kal-El]

Another icon has gone under the knife and emerged, well, only slightly differently iconic, but the changes made to the 2012 Beetle are only superficially slight. Volkswagen global marketing director Luca de Meo says of the car that was revealed simultaneously in New York, Berlin and Shanghai, "We worked on the entire packaging of the car, engine, trunk, interior, everything." Take a close look at it, and it's clear.

Marketing guru de Meo says VW laid out three objectives for the new hatchback: Bring back the spirit of the original, i.e., make it affordable, tough, and easy to use; reconnect with the emotion of the car; and bring the shape and concept of the original into the 21st century.

To achieve all that, Volkswagen's head of design, Klaus Bischoff, says they threw everything from the current Beetle out the window and had an original Beetle in the studio when they started the redesign in 2007. Working from those vintage cues, the 2012 car is stretched everywhere: it's 150 millimeters longer, 3.2 inches wider, and has a wider track. The bonnet is longer, a look exacerbated by the cabin being pushed back and the windshield being more upright and closer to the driver. The finished product even looks different compared to the car we saw in spy shots back in January.

The window graphic has also been stretched and continues around the car in a more cohesive line. At the bottom, the car is lowered and the revealed hatchback wears oversized alloys. Bischoff says, "the masculine feeling we wanted to achieve is based on really big wheels." Inside, there are body-colored elements on the dash and steering wheel spokes, and ambient lighting that can be changed from red to white to blue.

But that bit about masculinity is the real takeaway. When de Meo lists the most important alterations to the "monument," they are the XDS electric front differential that make the Beetle "more nimble, agile – it makes it behave like the movie car Herbie;" the fact that the 200-horsepower turbocharged motor makes this a "toy for a boy;" and the Fender audio that includes some first-time features such as the Panasonic technology in the tweeters.

The aim is to communicate that the Beetle isn't just for women anymore. Even as the car is meant to be more emotional, VW USA head Jonathan Browning says the German automaker wants to keep the women who have sponged up the car, but expand its demographic and make the car more global. de Meo adds, "We want to make a statement without making compromises, to get out of niche and into core demand in many markets."

The 2012 Beetle will go on sale sometime in September or October, priced "very competitive in the mainstream of the marketplace" according to Browning.

[Shinare]

That third pic down, the side shot... it looks like its one step away from being a Porsche.

[matthewai]

oh i see the audi tt and the volvo c30 have mated

pretty cool

[kimona]

Looks good!

[xaero_81]

Originally Posted by Shinare

That third pic down, the side shot... it looks like its one step away from being a Porsche.

That may be because the designer of the original 911 had also designed the the beetle. I think that's what I've read.

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by Shinare

That third pic down, the side shot... it looks like its one step away from being a Porsche.

It's just a 911 that got left attached to the air-line for too long....

[enviri]

kinda weird with that scirocco mouth front bumper, and i just cant shake off that PT cruiser side profile...

[STC]

Looks great.

Good to know German engineering got some things right! My dad has a 2001 VW Beetle. The cupholders are in front of the shifter underneath the console dashboard. The holders are only good for short cups!

Cheers!

[Kal-El]

Definitely a huge improvement, and a bit more true to the originally shape.

Still, it seems odd to me how VW insists on making this a premium small car which contradicts its whole history as "the people's car" (cheap and affordable).
That's what made it one of the best selling cars in history. Now, they build this small, largely impracticable car, and sell it for around $20K. Even more expensive than the Jetta - go figure. This should be a $12K car. VW says they want to be #1 and boost sales in the US significantly, but this isn't the way to do it.

[SilverBack]

Originally Posted by xaero_81

That may be because the designer of the original 911 had also designed the the beetle. I think that's what I've read.

100% correct. I did a big paper on Ferdinand Porsche a while back. The 911 and Beetle are distant cousins.



I've sat in the back of both the old Beetle and the new. There's no headroom in the newer ones, and from the looks of the chopped top of the 2012 there's bound to be even less. Sorry, but this is just another typical uninspired garbage retro design that J. Mays continues to earn money off of. No sale

Nice improvement to the dash though.

[thebarber]

looks cool

almost a cross between an audi TT and a fiat 500

[BluYrs]

My GF has a New Beetle and she doesn't find the new one attractive. I on the other hand feel it's an improvement over the design of the previous one. Still, it fails to move me in any way, which is notable for a car which should provoke at least some kinf of a reaction.

The Fiat 500 (nice design both inside and out) and the Mini (nice proportions) seem far better options if you need to get on the retro-wagon. Also, the 2006 switch from Mk1 to Mk2 "BMW" Mini is a brilliant example of a well-executed overhaul of a retro model. Most people still take it for a facelift.