LA 2015: 2016 Volkswagen Beetle Dune Isn't Your Dad's Buggy

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

Volkswagen announced Tuesday, one day before the opening of the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, that it will sell two new special editions of the Beetle that harken back to previous specials offered up by the automaker.

The Beetle Dune is as close as you can get to a Murano CC without getting all-wheel drive or a Land Rover Evoque. The jacked-up Beetle will wear unique body cladding and Dune stickers that are in no way a nod to the Frank Herbert novels of yesteryear.

Powering Dune through a sci-fi universe during its morning commute will be the same 1.8-liter TSI available in other Beetles. There’s no mention of a diesel, obviously. Available as either a coupe or convertible, Dune will be shod with 18-inch Canyon aluminum-alloy wheels wrapped in 235/45 all-season rubber, further proving this is a special edition that’s all fashion and definitely isn’t the buggy your father converted into a sand rail. However, it does get a 0.4-inch lift and a 0.8-inch wider track, so there’s that, I guess.

The other special edition Volkswagen looks to bring to production is a redux of their Beetle Jeans model, this time called Beetle Denim, which will sport multiple surfaces covered in only the finest mom jeans and totally explains the high beltline.

It, too, will be powered by the same 1.8-liter TSI engine, though the Demin model will only be available as a convertible.

Dune Coupe and Demin Convertible will be available this spring, with the Dune Convertible following later in the year.












Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • NeilM NeilM on Nov 18, 2015

    A diesel version would have to be called the VW Beetle Doom.

  • Lon888 Lon888 on Nov 18, 2015

    This is wrong on soooo many levels. Jacking up a beetle to make it some sort of half-a$$ed CUV. You gotta be kidding me. Volkswagen haven't you had enough embarrassment this year?

    • Wheatridger Wheatridger on Nov 18, 2015

      Half an inch of list is hardly "jacked-up". Unless your're proud to drag the muffler of your own car. This isn't much more than a wheel-and-stripe custom job, hardly enough to get upset about.

  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Thankfully I don't have to deal with GDI issues in my Frontier. These cleaners should do well for me if I win.
  • Theflyersfan Serious answer time...Honda used to stand for excellence in auto engineering. Their first main claim to fame was the CVCC (we don't need a catalytic converter!) engine and it sent from there. Their suspensions, their VTEC engines, slick manual transmissions, even a stowing minivan seat, all theirs. But I think they've been coasting a bit lately. Yes, the Civic Type-R has a powerful small engine, but the Honda of old would have found a way to get more revs out of it and make it feel like an i-VTEC engine of old instead of any old turbo engine that can be found in a multitude of performance small cars. Their 1.5L turbo-4...well...have they ever figured out the oil dilution problems? Very un-Honda-like. Paint issues that still linger. Cheaper feeling interior trim. All things that fly in the face of what Honda once was. The only thing that they seem to have kept have been the sales staff that treat you with utter contempt for daring to walk into their inner sanctum and wanting a deal on something that isn't a bare-bones CR-V. So Honda, beat the rest of your Japanese and Korean rivals, and plug-in hybridize everything. If you want a relatively (in an engineering way) easy way to get ahead of the curve, raise the CAFE score, and have a major point to advertise, and be able to sell to those who can't plug in easily, sell them on something that will get, for example, 35% better mileage, plug in when you get a chance, and drives like a Honda. Bring back some of the engineering skills that Honda once stood for. And then start introducing a portfolio of EVs once people are more comfortable with the idea of plugging in. People seeing that they can easily use an EV for their daily errands with the gas engine never starting will eventually sell them on a future EV because that range anxiety will be lessened. The all EV leap is still a bridge too far, especially as recent sales numbers have shown. Baby steps. That's how you win people over.
  • Theflyersfan If this saves (or delays) an expensive carbon brushing off of the valves down the road, I'll take a case. I understand that can be a very expensive bit of scheduled maintenance.
  • Zipper69 A Mini should have 2 doors and 4 cylinders and tires the size of dinner plates.All else is puffery.
  • Theflyersfan Just in time for the weekend!!! Usual suspects A: All EVs are evil golf carts, spewing nothing but virtue signaling about saving the earth, all the while hacking the limbs off of small kids in Africa, money losing pits of despair that no buyer would ever need and anyone that buys one is a raging moron with no brains and the automakers who make them want to go bankrupt.(Source: all of the comments on every EV article here posted over the years)Usual suspects B: All EVs are powered by unicorns and lollypops with no pollution, drive like dreams, all drivers don't mind stopping for hours on end, eating trays of fast food at every rest stop waiting for charges, save the world by using no gas and batteries are friendly to everyone, bugs included. Everyone should torch their ICE cars now and buy a Tesla or Bolt post haste.(Source: all of the comments on every EV article here posted over the years)Or those in the middle: Maybe one of these days, when the charging infrastructure is better, or there are more options that don't cost as much, one will be considered as part of a rational decision based on driving needs, purchasing costs environmental impact, total cost of ownership, and ease of charging.(Source: many on this site who don't jump on TTAC the split second an EV article appears and lives to trash everyone who is a fan of EVs.)
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