Could this be the next...
Could this be the next big thing for Volkswagen? With the firm riding high on the runaway success of the new Scirocco, these pictures might point the way for an ultra-luxurious two-seat coupé for its line-up.
The muscular lines are the work of Brazilian designer Marcelo Rosa. And although you may not recognise it as anything related to VWò€™s former models, the car is in fact a modern take on the little-known SP-2, a Beetle-based coupé sold in small numbers in Brazil back in the Seventies.
The new SP-2 would be pitched to customers as a two-door Passat CC, with more power under the bonnet. It could also be an upmarket alternative to the Scirocco.
With its long bonnet and bulging haunches, it looks like something more at home in Detroit than Wolfsburg. But the hooded headlights mimic both the original SP-2 and the front end of the current Scirocco and Golf MkVI. Engines could include the 3.6-litre V6 from the Passat R36 or even the 5.0-litre V10 diesel from the Touareg R50. Rear-wheel drive could even be a possibility ò€“ allowing the car to stay faithful to the layout of its Brazilian predecessor.
The SP-2 is a design study with no immediate plans for production, but it could be just the car to excite buyers and boost sales.
And itò€™s not the only exciting design to emerge this week. Pictured on the right are some of the weird and wonderful creations entered into this yearò€™s annual Los Angeles Design Challenge. The brief was to create a racing car for 2025.
Entries include the Mitsubishi MMR25, with eight separate tyres making up each wheel, the Mazda Kaan ò€“ an electric racer with a 250mph top speed ò€“ and GMò€™s Chaparral Volt, which can generate power via its rear-mounted wind turbines.