One will be black on white, the other will be white on black. Both will have turbos and dual-clutch transmissions. Volkswagen has just announced two new special editions of the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, called the Black Turbo and the White Turbo.
Both editions are based on the top-of-the-line Beetle Sport model, which features VW’s 2.0 liter turbo four and the automaker’s DSG transmission as featured in the MkVI VW GTI and Jetta GLI. It’s good for a sub-seven second 0-60 run in the similarly equipped GTI, so expect similarly brisk performance in the new Beetle.
The “Black” edition will be painted in VW’s “Deep Black” paint shade and will feature alloy wheels and mirrors in a contrasting shade of white. The “White” edition will be painted “Candy White,” with mirrors and alloys painted black. Both models will come with turbo badges on the exterior, and will have the interior dash and door panels painted in the body color.
The models won’t get any go-fast items, but they will be available with the Beetle’s Fender-tuned Panasonic sound system, so playing “Back in Black” or “White Horse” at high volume should be an aural delight.
Compared to the previous model, the 2012 Beetle stands 5.98 in longer and 3.31 in wider, with increases in the front and rear track of 2.48 in and 1.93 in, respectively. VW claims this should drastically improve handling and give the Beetle more sporting character.
Now that the Jetta, the Beetle’s sibling, now comes standard with a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine, the Beetle now qualifies as a more “premium” offering: it takes the Jetta SE’s 2.5 liter five-cylinder as standard, which is upgradable to the 2.0 liter Clean Diesel engine from the Jetta TDI and the Black/White edition’s gas turbo four.
The 2012 Beetle Black Turbo is currently available for pre-order through VW dealers nationwide, with pricing at $24,950–slightly above the standard Turbo model’s price of $24,765 including destination and a $495 reservation fee. The run will be limited to 600 units, and VW has indicated reservation rolls are filling up quickly. At launch VW will ship 600 white turbos to dealers (one unit per dealer), which will be used as a special edition “launch car,” according to VW.
