Photos used with permission from Vortex Media Group

NEW YORK CITY – At the New York International Auto Show, Volkswagen of America, Inc., will feature a Passat equipped with an appearance package inspired by the Passat R GT that was shown at the Specialty Equipment Market Association’s (SEMA) annual exhibition in November 2005. Although the vehicle was a concept, rave reviews from fans prompted Volkswagen to offer the package as an option on new Passats.

The appearance package creates a racy and aggressive look for the Passat with front and rear skirts with color contrasting elements, a honeycomb-designed grille, side sill kit, a harmonically integrated tailgate lip, oval-shaped tail pipe trim and 18-inch titanium colored alloy wheels, wrapped with 235/45R18 high-performance summer Pirelli tires. The vehicle’s stance is also lowered with the addition of performance lowering springs.

Editors Note: The package will be a port installed option. $4,500 seems expensive, but if you add up the cost of a full high quality body kit + suspension + wheels + tires + paint, you will be close to $4,500 in no time. This seems like a hell of a deal, and makes the car look killer. The Body Kit will also be sold seperately, with pricing to be announced at a later date. This package was put together as part of VW’s Moonraker project, a team of VW employees that came here to study US market needs and desires. These are the same people that came up with the Volkswagen GX3, but this time actually came up with something practical. My only fear… VW shows will be flooded with 20 of these cars all lined up, and will lose some of the exclusivity. Either way, its all money in the bank for VW.

See More Photos of the Passat w/ the Appearance Package on The Car Lounge’s NYIAS Photo Gallery.