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The Basics
Volkswagen moves upmarket into BMW and Mercedes territory by bringing its W8 engine to U.S. shores. Installed in its popular Passat sedan and station wagon, the W8 "takes the Passat to a higher level," says Frank Maguire, vice president, sales and marketing for Volkswagen. The highpowered Passat also has VW's 4Motion all-wheel-drive and numerous interior goodies that will help the vehicle compete in the entry-luxury segment
Engine details
The W8 - which has been on the market in Europe for more than a year - is a derivative of VW's W12 engine. During development of the W12, engineers combined two VR engines in a parallel arrangement making a compact W shaped 12-cyL unit Derived from this engine, the condensed size...