A Norwegian website sports what is touted to be a new photo of the 2011 Volkswagen Passat. Volkswagen fans are waiting with bated breath to see if it’s all true, and in the meantime are poring over the picture enthralled with what is to come.

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Finally, the human race has come up with something useful that can be created from what is being flushed down the toilet every day. The new Volkswagen Beetle has been converted to run on methane, which has been produced from human excrement. The 2.0 liter car is called the ‘Bio-Bug’, and sources say that it is as efficient on the methane as on conventional fuel and can maintain a top speed of 114 mph (183 km/h).

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A supremely modified Volkswagen Golf IV R32 has been unveiled by MTE. Modifications under the hood include the German tuner specializing in turbo conversions. There are installed turbo-plus intercooler along with larger injectors, modified cylinder head, forged pistons, high performance camshafts, and an optimized ECU.

All of this fine tweaking means that the car, with its twin-turbo 3.2-liter V6 pushing 2.2 bar of boost with a compression ratio of 7.8:1 produces 790 hp (589 kW / 801 PS) and 1200 Nm (885 lb-ft) of torque is capable of navigating the quarter mile in 10.7 seconds at 216 km/h (134 mph).

To handle the extra power generated, MTE added a Sachs two-disc sintered clutch in addition to a KW Coilover ‘Club Sport’ suspension, semi-slick tires, and a high-performance braking system (with 360mm discs and six-piston Brembo calipers). Inspired by this beauty, car fans, speed fans, power rush addicts are all looking to see what MTE gives next.

We have been hearing of the Volkswagen Amarok for quite some time now, and here we have for you a bunch of spy pictures that details the single-cab. By the looks of it, it seems the maker has gone in for a snipped version of the earlier dual-cab Amarok. Take a look at these spy pictures, clicked by an enthusiast somewhere out there.

Though VW hasn’t yet come out in public with details of the single-cab Amarok, we are forced to believe that the little truck would be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder TDI with 120 kW (161 hp / 163 PS) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. In the meanwhile, we are also being told that VW might offer a 2.0-liter four-cylinder flex-fuel petrol variant too. You needn’t be surprised if VW also goes in for an automatic transmission too. This would make it a first for the Amarok.

Going by the pictures, the single cab Amarok looks like a vehicle with a few little changes thrown in here and there in comparison with the dual cab design. Alterations include a longer truck bed. Besides this, a long B-pillar that has some extra storage space behind the front seats may also be seen as a change. VW is likely to roll out the single cab Amarok by early 2011. [via WCF]

Those wondering when the Volkswagen Polo R will be launched, we have the scoop — sometime in 2010. Adding to the whole R-series that include the Golf R and the Scirocco R models, the new VW Polo R will have a  1.6 liter turbocharged petrol/gasoline engine that sports some 210 bhp, but unlike the Golf … there’s no sign of an AWD system since it will be built on the current PQ25 platform which doesn’t allow it. No word of an exact release date or prices, but it should be north of what the new Polo GTI will sell for when it will be available in Europe this summer — some £18,000/€20,000. Worth it folks?

ps: image of a Polo GTI

For those who love the current Polo, but want their ride to be a bit larger, we’re hearing that 2012 Volkswagen Polo sedan (also known as the new VW Vento) is in the works — and we managed to get our hands on a design sketch for you. Basically a Polo with a trunk instead of a hatch, the Volkswagen Polo sedan has a 50mm longer wheelbase, and as expected, much more legroom in the rear seat. While yet to be confirmed, word is that the Polo sedan will run on a 1.2-liter TSI, a 1.6-liter TDI, and naturally-aspirated 1.2- and 1.4-liter units. The nice surprise is that other than the five and six-speed manual transmission, there’s also a seven speed DSG to play with. Availability in India is set for sometime in July.

Volkswagen is using some brains to ensure that the upcoming multi-media platform in VW cars will be a certain success. VW has announced an open innovation contest dubbed the ‘App My Ride’ where it is going to challenge developers to create new software applications for its multi-media platform.

As there are €14,000 in cash and non-cash prizes available, VW can be rest assured of some stunning entries which is definitely going to help the brand in the longer run. This ‘App My Ride’ project draws inspiration from the booming Smartphone industry which is well assisted by amazing applications. What is great is that there is a separate prize for student participants so even the fresh talent is not being ignored by VW. [via devicemag]

The New York International Auto Show came as a pleasant occasion for VW as the Polo was named the 2010 car of the year out of three finalists that was announced last month. A total of 30 cars were selected for the award and later the competition was scaled down to three contenders after careful adjudication of all 30 automobiles.

The other two finalists challenging the Polo were Mercedes Benz E Class and the Toyota Prius. The mandatory conditions for the cars to be nominated included sales in at least two continents in the year 2009 and a minimum of 500 units of each nominated vehicle produced in 2009.

As per one of the jury members, the VW Polo MkV is one of the classiest small VWs ever been built. The winner even achieved 5-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating. Chevrolet Camaro also managed to bag the World Car Design of the Year prize while the entire Volkswagen BlueMotion lineup was awarded the World Green Car of the Year.

Volkswagen’s Sharan MPV has been thoroughly bettered compared to its first generation model as it is wider, longer and lower. Despite the improvements, VW has gone ahead and announced the price for the second generation model which is lower compared to its first-gen model. The new Sharan base level will cost €28,875, which is €2,475 less than the retail price of the previous model.

Available for order now, the base model features a 1.4-liter TSI petrol engine that renders 148bhp. There is diesel variant (2.0-liter TDI producing 140 PS) which will cost €30,950, again a €1,900 reduction compared to the first gen model. VW will also sell Sharan TDI 170 PS and TSI 200PS models later in the year. It is noteworthy that all Sharan models can now be ordered with DSG.

I suppose its a sad day when the addition of LED’s to golfs become newsworthy, but news on the automotive front have been a bit dull this week.

Anyway, for those who care the new Golf R is going to have LED taillights like the ones pictured above offered as standard and the GTI and GTD will have it offered as a R3500 option. Why can’t they just include it in the price and add it anyway? Well they’ll make more money this way is the obvious answer.

The benefits of using LED’s are they last longer and illuminate quicker – 0.2 seconds quicker than conventional bulbs in fact.

All this means that people will see you hitting the brakes a fifth of a second quicker, shaving a full 5 meters off the braking distance from 100km/h.

Plus they look cool.