Volkswagen will reveal its next-gen Beetle on April 18, amidst the bicontinental splendor of the New York and Shanghai auto shows, and, like the new Chevy Malibu, online. VeeDub is seemingly determined to hammer home its view that the Beetle isn’t just for Social-Security-eligible former hippies. To that end, the company has it will be partnering with MTV’s World Stage program for a multimedia extravaganza-blast-funkytime debut of the new compact.
The reveal will begin with a VJed event in Shanghai, followed by New York City and Berlin events headlined by The Black Eyed Peas and a Belgian twosome called 2manydjs, respectively. (Talk about a case of winners and losers.) The New York show will be shown live on the MTV World State web site. Volkswagen says the “Beetle is an icon of the automotive world, just like MTV is an icon of the music world”—apparently not realizing that MTV’s music-playing glory days were long ago supplanted by brain-dissolving dreck like Jersey Shore.
As we previously reported, the new New Beetle should be much more evolutionary than revolutionary, with the new chopped roofline being the greatest visual departure from the outgoing car. It’s a good bet that the new car will use VW’s 2.5-liter inline-five—just as has the outgoing Beetle for the past several years—as well as a 115-hp 2.0-liter four dating to the Ancien Régime, and, if we’re lucky, something turbocharged.
The days when Mark Knopfler sang I want my MTV may be behind us, but for VW’s sake, here’s to hoping the same isn’t true for the Beetle.
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