release date in 2012 Volkswagen Beetle
Like the car it replaces, the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle will be built exclusively at the company’s Puebla, Mexico complex, which is also the only plant in the company’s global system that turns out the Jetta compact sedan and wagon. That’s because the New Beetle has always shared a basic front-wheel-drive platform and many underskin components with prior-generation Jettas (and related Golf hatchbacks), and the redesign won’t change that. What should change is the platform itself, as the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle is expected to move to the much-modified architecture of the larger, redesigned 2011 Jetta sedan. This would account for several reports that the Bug will grow 3 to 3.5 inches longer overall and probably a like amount in wheelbase. Britain’s Autocar magazine and other sources also forecast wider axles and a corresponding increase in overall width, which we estimate at just over 2 inches. Overall height will drop some 2.5 inches by our reckoning, thanks to the revised styling.
That height reduction stems from a flatter roofline that will be a major visual change for the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. A legacy of the 2005 Ragster Concept, the re-profiled “greenhouse” should combine with the expanded exterior package for improved rear-seat headroom, a longstanding criticism of the current dome-top design. Rear legroom and shoulder room should be more generous as well. Ditto cargo space, especially in the hatchback sedan.
That height reduction stems from a flatter roofline that will be a major visual change for the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. A legacy of the 2005 Ragster Concept, the re-profiled “greenhouse” should combine with the expanded exterior package for improved rear-seat headroom, a longstanding criticism of the current dome-top design. Rear legroom and shoulder room should be more generous as well. Ditto cargo space, especially in the hatchback sedan.
