Volkswagen's tried to court well-heeled car-shoppers before, and, well, it didn't quite work out as planned. ("Phaeton" is a dirty word to VW dealers.) Undaunted, and apparently eager to attract buyers who consider the regular Passat sedan a bit too middle-class, VW introduces the more rakish Passat CC, calling it a "four-door coupe." Mercedes-Benz did it with the neither-here-nor-there CLS, and Aston Martin will certainly do it with the Rapide when it reaches the showroom. No matter: Sedan, coupe, or something in between, the Passat CC is, in fact, an exceptionally handsome derivative of its more upright kin, with loads of premium touches and "intimate" seating for four. When the CC starts arriving in showrooms next year, look for it to feature VW's narrow-angle 3.6-liter V-6, producing 280 horsepower and driving all four wheels through a six-speed Tiptronic manu-matic transmission.
See more photos of the Passat CC after the break, courtesy of Volkswagen.
