Volkswagen is celebrating its 60th anniversary in North America this year and to mark the occasion it created four unique Beetle models to help commemorate the milestone. Comprising of two coupes and two convertibles, the Beetle concepts serve both as a nod to the past as well as looking forward to the future of car design.
The Beetle Convertible Denim is, as you may have guessed, quite blue. Painted in what Volkswagen calls 'Stonewashed Blue Metallic' paint, it goes for the double denim look (a major faux pas in our books) by featuring a dark blue textured fabric convertible roof that has been made to resemble denim. Preventing a total denim overload the exterior mirror caps, side skirts and other body mouldings are finished off in a grey hue while the 18-inch aluminium-alloy wheels take on a retro style.
If denim isn't quite your thing, Volkswagen has also created the imaginatively titled Beetle Pink Colour Edition. According to the German car maker, there is a growing demand for it to offer officially the Beetle in pink throughout its American and Chinese dealerships. So, as a toe in the water, the Pink Colour Edition concept came into being. It isn't entirely pink and fluffy though, as it comes fitted with the front and rear bumpers from the sporty R-Line range.
Inside it features some high gloss Titanium Black treatment around the dashboard although much of the remaining interior is finished in Pink Metallic paint. This extends to the door panels, air vent surrounds, steering wheel spokes and stitching. Volkswagen has said that even more pink could be applied, depending on feedback during the New York Auto Show.
The Beetle Convertible Wave adopts a West Coast vibe to its design with influences from summers in Santa Monica. Painted in a vivid Habanero Orange Metallic hue, its look includes chrome door mirrors and 19-inch Tornado alloy wheels. Inside there's houndstooth inserts in the seats (when did we last see that?!) and a real wood dash panel.
Taking on a more modern and high performance image is the Beetle R-Line concept. Finished in Onyx White Pearl effect paint it has an aggressively styled bodykit to reinforce its sporting intentions. 20-inch Monterey alloy wheels, a new rear diffuser and spoiler along with contrasting gloss black mouldings around the wheel arches all contribute towards giving the car a beefier image as well as making it 0.6 inches wider than the standard production car. Carbon fibre has been used inside the cabin on the dashboard, door and steering wheel inserts.
Anything else?
Volkswagen also rolled out its latest addition to the Stateside model range in the form of the rugged Golf SportWagen Alltrack. Granted, this isn't exactly a new model, it was shown at last year's Paris Motor Show, but it is now going on sale in the American market next year. The car uses much of the same hardware seen in the SEAT Leon X-Perience and Skoda Octavia Scout, neither of which are sold in the United States market.