Next Beetle in the pipeline
* New chassis and updated engines
* Will look less 'feminine' than current model
The next Beetle took a step closer to production this week, with the car being shown to VW's chief executive, Dr Martin Winterkorn, in the last few days.
It will be an all-new car, built on a new chassis and with updated engines.
A VW source said the car would be less 'feminine' looking and be 'distinctively different' from the current model.
The driving position is also said to improve on the current car's arrangement, which 'makes you feel like you are sitting in the wrong part of the car,' said our source.
Volkswagen believes there's big potential in the new Beetle, but the delay in introducing the car is because it's one of many products to undergo a thorough redesign since Dr Winterkorn and design chief Walter Da Silva took over the reigns in 2006.
