Volkswagen NMC (New Midsize Coupe) concept looked close to production-ready when it was introduced at the Auto China 2014 just over a week ago, and now images purportedly showing a real life production version of Jetta based swoopy sedan have surfaced online. The images appear to show that the VW NMC’s not-very-coupe-like, clean lines are set to be carried over to the production, which will be manufactured and designed in China by Shanghai VW, joint venture company of Volkswagen.
The aggressive front bumper treatment appears to have been retained, as have the showcar’s swept headlamps. The shallow glasshouse mimics the concept, and the roofline appears to have gone unchanged. The quad tailpipes have been done away with and the car’s taillights are toned down; however but its wheels and ride height are the biggest departure from the show car: gone are the sports car stance and eye-catching 20-inch rims in favor of a sedan-like height and a more standard set of rims.
The interior image clearly indicates the production-ready nature of the spied car, with a Golf-derived instruments and steering wheel, but with a media system and budget-look dash finish. In concept form, the vehicle measured shorter than Jetta at 4.59 meters, with a width of 1.83m and a roof height of 1.42m, making it wider as compared to Passat. As with the concept, the production model is likely to be built upon the same modular Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) underpinnings as the similarly sized Skoda Octavia and the current generation Golf hatchback.
Powering the concept car will be a turbocharged 4-cylinder 2.0-litre engine borrowed from the Golf GTI churning out 162kW of power and with a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.5 seconds. The show car’s engine was mated to a dual-clutch 7-speed automatic transmission with front wheel drive system. According to the sources, the all-new 4-door coupe will be originally produced for China before a more international-focused model rolls out of the brand’s Mexico plant, likely from 2016.
