It has been a long time since we last saw a tuning firm getting its hands on the Volkswagen Passat CC, but today we received news on a freshly developed styling and performance package for the mid-size sports saloon by German firm KBR Motorsport.

The tuning company starts on the outside with a bespoke foil-wrap in a so-called dull olive gray finish matched with new 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped around 225/30 ZR20 tires and a new exhaust tail pipe. To Passat CC’s aggressive stance is further enhanced with a lowered KW Variant 3 coilover suspension.

KBR Motorsport’s press release makes word of a tuning kit for the Passat CC’s turbocharged engine that lifts output to 260-horses, but does not specify the powerplant. Looking at the available engine range in Germany, chances are KBR Motorsport’s tune concerns the 2.0-liter TFSi, which delivers 210-horsepower in stock form.

The German tuner said that the complete package is priced at €11,000 or about US$15,800.

Citing inside management sources from Volkswagen, a news report from German weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche said the German automaker wants to produce its Tiguan compact SUV in North America in order to reduce costs and protect itself against fluctuation of exchange rates. Officially, Volkswagen declined to comment on the magazine report.

At present, the North American version of the refreshed Tiguan SUV is imported from Germany with production taking place at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant. The German automaker recently opened its first plant in the United States in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The $1 billion factory assembles the North American market 2012 Passat and has an annual capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles.

The German automaker has two more models in its range that are made in North America, the new Jetta and Beetle, both of which are produced in Mexico.

WirtschaftsWoche said that it has not yet been established if the North American Tiguan would be produced at the Chattanooga facility or at VW’s plant in Pueblo, Mexico.

Unless you've been living in some oddball world where the internet doesn't exist - in which case, you wouldn’t be reading this anyway (…), you’ve undoubtedly seen Volkswagen’s much praised Super Bowl commercial starring a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the new, North American-spec 2012 Passat. Having garnered close to 40 million views on Youtube on VW USA’s channel alone, the German company decided to bring the TV spot to Europe, and specifically to the UK to promote the seventh generation of the Passat that went on sale in the country in January. Not surprisingly, the only thing the advertising agency changed in the ad was the car. The campaign aired on UK television today and will run for six weeks.
“‘It’s a charming ad with great music and has the universal appeal of Star Wars,” said Volkswagen’s Communications Manager, Danny Hill. “It captures the imagination and ties in well with our message about the Passat’s clever technology. It was such a success in the States that it seemed a shame not to share it with a wider UK audience.”
We’ll remind you that Volkswagen separated the North American Passat from its European brethren with the presentation of a new model at the Detroit Show earlier this year. The U.S. Passat features a different –albeit very familiar- design and is built at the firm's brand new manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Across the pond, the mid-size sedan American buyers knew as the 2010/2011MY Passat received an extensive redesign for the 2012MY at last year’s Paris Motor Show.