One of the most beautiful modern models not only of Volkswagen, but in the automotive industry in general is officially no more. After the Arteon liftback "died" in 2023, now the sports station wagon has also been retired.
The more practical, but also more beautiful Shooting Brake is produced at the factory in Osnabrück, while the regular model rolls off the assembly line in Emden. VW produced nearly 190,000 units during the eight years of production for the "sedan" and five for the long-roof model.
VW spokesman Andreas G. Schleit shared the sad news on his LinkedIn account. The end of the Arteon Shooting Brake has been pushed back a year. In 2024, Martin Hubb, responsible for the Arteon, Passat, Touareg and the upcoming ID.2, told us that the station wagon would be discontinued in 2026, but apparently the dynamics are currently in full swing at VW and the Osnabrück plant has already stopped production of the stylish family car.
VW will continue to produce its only convertible in the same plant where the nicer and more luxurious alternative to the Passat Variant is made. The last T-Roc Cabriolet will be assembled in mid-2027. What will happen to the plant after that? Its fate is undecided, but VW says it is exploring options "for different uses."
VW intended to create an even more luxurious and expensive car to rank above the Arteon. A working prototype of the second-generation Phaeton was shown in mid-2022, and if it went into production, the flagship car would be about 5.3 meters long, roughly the same size as the latest BMW 7 Series.
And the German automaker wanted to cram a W-12 engine under the hood. Then came "Dieselgate" and VW ultimately decided to end the project. In addition to discontinuing the cars we mentioned, VW also recently said goodbye to its VR-6 engine after nearly 34 years of production.
