VW not building V-6 diesel GTI, Passat R30 TDI maybe?
During a launch event for the updated version of the Volkswagen Touareg, the company showed the version powered by the 3.0L TDI V-6 with BlueTec. According to VW of America Public Relations Manager Steve Keyes, the engine which has already been shown in the Audi Q7 will turn up in additional Volkswagen models.
One car that won't get the diesel V-6 is the GTI which will remain four cylinder only. However the mid-sized Passat seems like a natural fit for the six and VW last year announced there would be a high performance Passat R36. Installing the TDI in the sport model with its near 400 lb-ft of torque would make for a quite a lively R30 TDI model that still gets great fuel economy.
[Source: Winding Road]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brian Hague 11:47PM (5/10/2007)
As usual, Autobloggreen has come to a logical conclusion... however they seem to have forgotten a variable. The missing variable will always invert any logic... it's called Volkswagen of America. Good luck getting the Passat here in the states in a Sporty Diesel.
Again... this is VW we are talking about!
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TDIMeister 1:31AM (5/11/2007)
As I stated in the Winding Road comments section, I’d love to see VW try to shoehorn that 90-degree V6 into the transverse engine bay of a Passat.
I believe we'd sooner see a 5-cylinder TDI in a Passat, maybe not. VW's head of Diesel engine development, Dr. Jens Hadler, had previously been quoted in an industry magazine that VW does not have anything over 4-cylinders for Diesels planned for the PQ46 Passat. Moreover, VW already has a 4-cylinder in the wings with just over 200 horsepower, matching the output of the recently announced bi-turbo Diesel unit from BMW.
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Rich 7:47AM (5/11/2007)
I agree with the VW of America comment. When we tried several times to buy a diesel VW in the past we were faced with rude, annoying salespeople, prices so high it did not pay to buy a diesel and an overall feeling that neither me or my wife had any desire to walk into a VW dealership again.
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Mattias 9:07AM (5/11/2007)
AFAIK there were some twin turbo prototypes (Passat and Golf) based on the belt-less I5 found in the Transporter (also base engine for the Touareg in Germany). This seems far more realistic to me than the rumors about a narrow angle VR6...
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dave 10:05AM (5/11/2007)
@ Rich: That's terrible. I've had nothing but great experiences at VW dealers (outside of Philadelphia, and in Greenville, SC). And the TDIs were priced reasonably, too.
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Val 4:14PM (5/11/2007)
The reason diesels have such great success ineurope is that not only are they more economical, fuel is also much cheaper, so the higher price (usually 1-2 thousand over the equivalent petrol engine) is compensated within 2-3 years. I have seen the previous generation passat with a V6 TDI, not sure if it was 4motion, but then again the previous generation had much better design and platform...
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Brian Hague 12:48AM (5/14/2007)
#5 I'm not sure about you, but you should see what happened to me at my last time at a VW dealership...
http://1.8t.org/dealers/376/Moffitt-Volkswagen-Porsche-Audi-Mazda
I can't wait until Honda brings a diesel to the states!
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