Volkswagen CC – next-generation model could be more of a ‘fastback’

The Volkswagen CC has been on sale locally in its current guise since July 2012, while the original version arrived on the market in 2009. That means it's nearing the end of its life-cycle, and according to Horn, the new model is set to go one of two ways.

"Two versions are being studied, and we're seriously looking at a fastback version as one of them," Horn told US magazine Motor Trend.

While the current model was something of a genre-defining moment in its day, the game has moved on, and styling of 'four-door coupe' models has become something of a fad. Indeed, the Volkswagen Group has mooted plans for a Skoda four-door coupe which it showed in VisionC concept guise at the 2014 Geneva motor show, and that car may give away a few secrets as to what to expect.

Motor Trend suggests the new CC - which will be based on the new-generation Passat, which is expected to debut at the 2014 Paris motor show in October - will 'mimic the Audi A7', in that it will offer a sloping rear hatch and a more muscular stance.

According to Horn, the car is between two and three years away. But he suggested a way of fast-tracking the model - at least for North American consumption - would be to build it there, rather than source it from Germany.

"With the cost of production going up, we're looking at the business case, but maybe there's another option, of waiting 2-3 years and getting the CC built here in the US or in Mexico," Horn said.

Sales of the Volkswagen CC have petered off in recent times in Australia. To the end of April VW Australia had sold just 124 examples of the car, down 56 per cent on 2013's figures.