The Volkswagen Beetle R Concept had its official coming out party at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this year but with the US being the biggest market for the previous New Beetle it comes as no surprise that the beefed up Bug has also hit the LA Auto Show.

The car displayed in LA is virtually identical to the one we saw in Germany and would lead us to believe that, barring a few minor changes (concepts rarely make it to production 'as is'), this is the car we will see on our streets in the near future.

Wearing redesigned bumpers front and rear that are 30mm wider than standard the Beetle R features three air intakes to feed air to the engine that is expected to be a slightly detuned version of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged unit used in both the Golf and Scirocco R. The Beetle may come with less than the 261 - 266bhp offered in its siblings but should retain the Haldex based four-wheel drive system - despite the show car in Frankfurt being only front-wheel drive.

Also retained are the familiar five-spoke Talladega alloy wheels although we would expect these to shrink to more regular sizes than the 20-inch units on the concept. One thing that we hope does make it to the production version is the oversized rear spoiler. Reminiscent of the 'coffee table' spoiler from the limited edition Beetle RSi, it certainly gives the Beetle R some visual appeal.

Paul Healy - 16 Nov 2011