The end of an era: VW has released the last VR6 engine
12 December 2024 was a historic day for Volkswagen. After 34 years and almost 1.87 million units produced, the iconic VR6 engine was discontinued. This was announced on LinkedIn by Andreas G. Schleith, public relations manager for Volkswagen Passenger Cars.
Here's What We Know
In Europe, production of the VR6 engine ceased back in the mid-2010s against the backdrop of stricter environmental standards. In North American cars, the powertrain was used until recently, but the VR6 lasted longest in Volkswagen and Audi models for the Chinese market. Until now.
The VR6 engine was first introduced at the 1991 Geneva Motor Show in the third-generation VW Golf. Since then, this powertrain has been fitted to many VW models: the Beetle, Passat, Corrado, Vento/Bora/Jetta, Touareg, Phaeton, Transporter, Eos, CC and Sharan. It can also be found under the bonnet of other VW Group brands: Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, Audi TT, SEAT Leon, SEAT Alhambra and Skoda Superb. Other manufacturers have also used this motor in their cars, notably the Mercedes-Benz Vito.
VW Golf III. Photo: Andreas G. Schleith
On modern cars of the Volkswagen Group are installed more compact, lightweight and economical four-cylinder engines. They are originally created for modular platforms and thanks to this are integrated into dozens of models of different classes and sizes.
Source: Andreas G. Schleith
