It’s a four-door coupe the like of which has never been seen before in this vehicle segment: the New Midsize Coupe concept car. Volkswagen has brought the concept car to Beijing for its world premiere at Auto China 2014. The ‘New’ part goes without saying: the New Midsize Coupe is as new as a new car can be. ‘Coupe’ is also unambiguous: the New Midsize Coupe is low in height (1422 mm) and very wide (1838 mm), it has short overhangs, low visual centre of gravity, dynamic roofline with markedly swept-back C-pillars, muscular side sections and shoulders, long bonnet and short boot lid.
‘Midsize’ is less obvious. It’s normally the term for a car of the Passat class. However, the concept car is just 4597 mm long and thus shorter unlike the Passat and shorter even than the Jetta. Nonetheless, as mentioned the concept car outdoes the other two in terms of its width – and it is thus midsized. So clearly this concept car exhibits proportions of an extremely sporty nature. The team led by Klaus Bischoff, Volkswagen head designer integrated these sharp proportions in a body design, which makes the NMC (New Midsize Coupe) an avant-garde and powerful proponent of a new, compact sedan segment.
A Saloon And A Sports Car
When viewed from the front and rear, it immediately becomes apparent that the designers have placed what is known as the “greenhouse”, a roof section with all windows, on a very muscular body frame. This strongly highlights the large 20-inch wheels and powerfully modulated shoulder sections – that’s a trait of high-class sportscars. The concept car is painted in “Dragon Red” color; this brilliant red special effects paint is part of the total concept, because it emphasizes the powerful modulation of the body especially well.
Front End
The design team styled the front end to be very progressive. The designers shifted the visual centre of gravity downwards by special styling techniques. This has resulted in greater dynamism. As mentioned, the NMC is distinguished by a very short front overhang and a very long hood. These proportions were enabled by the MQB (Modular Transverse Matrix) by VW, and this innovative technical base opened up new possibilities for designers.
Radiator Grille And LED Headlights
The radiator grille structure comprises the Volkswagen badge and three cross fins. The lower cross fin have a polished chrome look towards the front and are brushed aluminum towards the engine, whereas the upper cross fin is painted in high-gloss black. The upper black cross fin makes the Coupe appear even lower in front than it already is, while the bright aluminum/chrome fins highlight its width. The radiator grille forms a stylistic unit together with the also newly designed LED daytime running lights and LED headlights.
Bumpers And Air Inlets
Under the radiator grille, there’s a horizontally oriented area painted in body color, and underneath this comes the central lower air inlet. On its sides, the air inlet is bordered by two diagonal aerodynamic elements, which run to the outer edges and form smaller air inlets in front of the front wheels, one each on the right and left. The front end is given an unmistakable look by a chrome strip that frames the lower air inlets – its two sections begin on the left and right sides of the painted central area of the bumper, and they run outwards.
Side profile
The designers also styled the side profile in an extremely powerful way. Striking here are the roof line at the top with just two side windows and the fast, Coupe-like C-pillars, which sweep back towards the rear. Another sportscar trait is the passenger cabin, which is set far back; this emphasizes the proportionately short boot lid and the long bonnet. In the meantime, the lower of two levels begins at the front of the car as a very narrow line, which symbolizes the upper limit of what is known as the tornado line.
Precise Character Line
Positioned on what is known as the character line are the door handles, which also adopt the extremely precise modulation. This integration of the door handles is extremely complex; it’s a masterful achievement of production technology, and this symbolizes a distinctive selling point of VW. On the lower side body, there is another line, and beneath it the striking design of the side sill that is finished entirely in metal. The outer wheel surfaces include segments painted in “Dragon Red” body color, whereas the inner surfaces of the machine-polished wheels are painted black.
Rear Section
Like the sides and front of the car, the rear body merges the forms of a Coupe with those of a sedan. The crisp design of bootlid features a rear spoiler, which is uniformly integrated into the design and terminates with a unique dual edge. On the next level, there’s another line in the middle of the bootlid at the height of Volkswagen badge, which extends into the rear lights and highlights the width of the Volkswagen New Midsize Coupe.
220 PS Engine
Powering the Volkswagen New Midsize Coupe is a 2.0 liter turbocharged petrol injection TSI powerplant, which is good for churning out 220 PS of power. The engine is mated to a similarly efficient seven-speed dual clutch transmission. It accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds. On a racetrack or German motorways, the concept car would be able to reach a speed of 244 km/h.
Sporty Interior With Lots Of Room
Driver-focused and equipped with leather sports seats, the interior follows the dynamic concept of a Coupe. However, the Volkswagen New Midsize Coupe is in no way tight or constricted. Instead, it offers comfortable seating for up to five. The inner surfaces of the seats are designed in a bright “Silk” color, whereas the outer areas form a contrast in the dark “Ebony Black”. The inner and outer surfaces are visually separated by elegant piping in “Dragon Red” that’s the body paint color. Advanced interior elements include many components trimmed in Alcantara including the roof pillars and roof lining and trim strips in piano finish look. The controls, including the infotainment system and multifunction sports steering column, are based on Modular Transverse Matrix A (MQB-A) and have thus been adapted from the current Golf. Over and above this, the automaker is demonstrating with this concept Coupe just how multifaceted the Modular Transverse Matrix is and what exciting models VW customers all over the world can look forward to over the next few years.
