When Volkswagen developed the second generation of the New Beetle, it wanted to shake off its predecessor’s cute “lady bug” connotation that made many men shy away from it, giving it a more chiseled body to draw in a bigger male audience.
However, we all know that looks aren’t always enough to get men interested in a car, so VW presented a thinly disguised concept of a macho “R” version in late 2011, with the company hinting at a production model.
While this particular Beetle scooped in Europe lacks most of the styling pizazz of the study like the LED lights, vented front and rear bumpers, big rear spoiler and quad tailpipes, it does come with VW’s “R” style wheels and a big set of brakes on all four corners, with our spies adding that it sounded far more aggressive than any other regular Beetle.
What this matte-grey colored car is believed to be, is a test mule for the upcoming Beetle R, which should come with a 2.0 liter turbocharged engine (possibly the same one found in the latest Golf R) delivering close to 300 horsepower, along, of course, with the necessary updates to the chassis and its appearance.
That’s all we have for now, but we’ll update you as soon as we have something new.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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