2013 Volkswagen Passat Alltrack will debut in a world premiere at the Tokyo Auto Show next month, followed by market launch in early 2012. The Passat Alltrack is crossover between Passat Estate and Tiguan aims to target drivers who use their car as a towing vehicle, or in light off-road situations, want a versatile, sporty and very roomy passenger car that has rugged qualities.

2013 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT ALLTRACK

In comparison with the familiar Passat Estate, the new model is defined by new bumpers in SUV style with wheel well and side sill flares. Its greater off-road ramp angle, approach angle, departure angle and higher ground clearance all make the Passat Alltrack an excellent SUV alternative for driving on unpaved track.

Two turbocharged direct injection petrol engines (TSI) with 118 kW and 155 kW and two turbodiesels (TDI) also with direct injection with 103 kW and 125 kW are available in the Passat Alltrack. The two most powerful Alltrack versions, the 170 PS TDI and the 210 PS TSI, have standard 4MOTION all-wheel drive and a dual clutch transmission (DSG).

For the Passat Alltrack with a 140 PS TDI, Volkswagen will offer all-wheel drive as an option. Just how efficiently the engines of the Passat Alltrack operate together with the intelligently controlled 4MOTION all-wheel drive system is illustrated by the two TDI engines, the 140 PS version has a low combined fuel consumption of 5.7 l/100 km, while fuel consumption for the 170 PS version is 5.8 l/100 km.

2012 MERCEDES BENZ SL ROADSTER

Before the year is out, Mercedes Benz will present a completely redeveloped SL Roadster made for the first time almost entirely from aluminium. The full aluminium body shell of this newly developed vehicle weighs around 110 kilograms less than a comparable bodyshell constructed with the technology used for its predecessor.

At the same time, the new generation of this luxury sport car can be converted into an open or a closed concert hall. This is thanks to the new bodyshell structure which makes possible the Front Bass system, unique in the world and also celebrating its debut. The new generation Mercedes-Benz SL takes the meaning of the letters “SL” sporty, lightweight very seriously. Consistent weight reduction is one of the most outstanding design results in the new SL as was the case in its namesake, the original SL of 1954. For the first time Mercedes Benz implements a full aluminium bodyshell in large series production. Only very few components are made from other materials.

As a further world first, Mercedes-Benz is also presenting the highly effective Magic Vision Control adaptive windscreen wipe and wash system. It delivers water requirement based and depending on the direction of wipe, directly to the wiper blade, neither a water jet nor a film of water can be seen, and yet the windscreen stays perfectly clean for the driver and passenger.