Passat R36 Variant Styling Study

The Volkswagen crew is blowing up this year’s Worthersee GTI meet in Worther Lake, Austria, first with the introduction of the Scirocco GT24. You’ll remember that last year Volkswagen unveiled the shockingly exotic VW Golf GTI W12 650. But VAG isn’t stopping there. They’ve taken the wraps off of an Emeril-inspired Passat design study that kicks the already spicy R36 wagon up a notch.

The 300-hp, 3.6-liter V6 remains, but the stock exhaust has been upgraded with a new cat-back unit sporting larger tailpipes. The front brakes have also been swapped out in favor of larger Brembo six-piston units and the wheels are 20-inchers pulled from the Touareg R-Line.

Recaro interior VW passat

All the chrome trim has also been removed and replaced with pieces that match the Passat’s Moonlight Blue hue. Inside, race-ready Recaros replace the softer buckets found on the standard model, and they match the two-tone, black-and-white steering wheel, shift boot and even seat belts quite nicely. Volkswagen has made it clear that the Passat R36 Variant Styling Study is exactly what its name would imply, but don’t be surprised to find some of these custom bits available through VW’s Individual program in the future.

Passat