Das Auto

Last week VW unveiled their new for 2012 Beetle simultaneously in New York, Berlin and Shanghai. VW apparently tossed out the current Beetle and tried to work from the original again in developing the latest model. The result is something which they hope (and I agree) is a lot less feminine, with a broader market appeal. I don't know if they did this intentionally, but the roofline has a very distinct Porsche 911 look to it now - far more than any previous Beetle model, old or new. It's available in a raft of colours including Toffeebraun Metallic (brown) and the staples of the US car market - silver, white, black and grey. The chassis is bound to be based on the next-gen Golf chassis and VW have given the new Beetle the same front-engine, front-wheel-drive as the current generation.
The Beetle has always been a bit of a marmite car - you either love it or hate it and I think the new redesign falls into the 'love it' category for me. If you want a look at the new model, VW have their 'Konfigurator' live on the German site right now. 2012 VW Beetle Configurator