2023 Volkswagen Passat Prototype Hides Sporty Golf Grille Behind Sneaky Disguise

Selecting the correct colour could make all of the distinction to a automotive’s design. The incorrect colour can depart the sheetmetal wanting like a boring shapeless mass, however the best one can intensify each delicate styling element.

How considerate then of Volkswagen’s take a look at division to swap out its black-painted prototypes of the upcoming 2023 Passat wagon for this brilliant silver one that offers us a significantly better thought of what the completed automotive will seem like when it lands in European showrooms subsequent 12 months.

And that is very a lot a European automotive. The American-market Passat, which had already break up from its old-country namesake to turn out to be a bespoke North American design a number of years in the past, was killed off earlier this 12 months, a casualty of the transfer to EVs and electrical autos.

Conventional vehicles just like the Passat nonetheless have a small following in Europe, notably amongst drivers who get a automotive as a part of their employment package deal, and the Variant or wagon physique fashion is fashionable. It actually might be on this new Passat lineup as a result of Volkswagen is killing off the four-door sedan thought and can solely promote the wagon, although some sources declare a liftback may also be supplied. Intently associated to the next-generation Skoda Excellent, the Passat might be constructed on VW’s MQB Evo platform.

Associated: Europe’s 2023 VW Passat Will get Golf-Fashion Pill Touchscreen And Column-Mounted Shift Lever

This automotive’s silver paint clearly highlights the flat wheelarch lips and the sturdy swage line that’s closely harking back to the road discovered on BMW’s 3-Sequence Touring wagon. There’s even a touch of a BMW-style Hofmeister kink within the D-pillar and the form of the rear hatch and the location of the badge has a particular BMW look about it – although to be honest to Volkswagen, these options have been already seen on the outgoing Passat.

In contrast with the earlier black prototypes, this silver one additionally offers us a greater view of the contouring of the decrease bumpers, in addition to the cutout within the hood that’s essential to clear the VW roundel. A sneaky disguise on the grille and decrease gentle items does its greatest to persuade us we’re final 12 months’s automotive, however we’re guessing that these grille bars might be absent from the completed design, which could have a narrower opening much like the one on the Mk8 Golf. What might be current is a well-known mixture of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains, plus a extra fashionable touchscreen, once more just like the one fitted to the Golf. However not like the Golf, the Passat will get a column-mounted shift lever for its transmission.