Volkswagen has announced a new sportier model for the Passat family, the Passat Sport, arriving in showrooms later this year. VW says the Passat Sport is the production version of the Passat Performance Concept shown at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, but the road-going model misses about 77 horsepower compared with the study.
Whereas the Passat Performance Concept was powered by a 247hp 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Passat Sport gets a detuned version of the same EA888 unit producing 170hp and 184 lb-ft (136 Nm) of torque. The engine can be mated to a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
The VW Passat Sport gets, however, a number of study-inspired features, including 19-inch Luxor wheels, a rear spoiler, sport comfort seats, carbon trim accents, aluminum sport pedals, stainless steel door sills, and Sport-specific floor mats.
Other additional features compared to the SE trim line are the fog-lights, aluminum sport pedals, stainless steel door sills and paddle shifters when equipped with the automatic transmission.
The model is available with three exterior colors: Urano Gray (exclusively for the Passat Sport), Candy White, and Tungsten Silver. The latter two are accompanied by a black roof and black mirror caps, as seen on the concept car.
The new model starts at $27,295 (€20,045) with the manual transmission ($28,495 with the six-speed automatic), slotting in between the mid-level SE and the range-topping SEL Premium trims. Both prices include $820 destination and handling.
By Dan Mihalascu
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