wagen Group B platform is a mid-size automobile platform from the Volkswagen Group.
It has
been used for saloon cars/sedans, estate cars/station wagon, and coupés - under the Volkswagen
Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT and Škoda marques over the years.[citation needed] More recently,
Volkswagen Group have introduced a new alphanumeric nomenclature for car platforms. The
platform code is composed as follows:
A letter, P, indicating a passenger car platform
A letter indicating the configuration of the engine:
o Q indicates a transverse engine (Quer in German)
o L indicates a longitudinal engine (Längs in German)
A digit indicating the platform size or class (4 corresponding to the "B" series of platforms)
A digit indicating the generation or evolution
An additional + suffix indicates a long-wheelbase variant.
Contents
B1Edit
1974–1988. An Audi derived platform, the first Volkswagen Passat was nearly identical to
the Audi 80 (Audi Fox in US), sharing much of its mechanical systems, including its longitudinal
engine placement.
VW Passat B1/VW Dasher (Typ 32, 1974–1981; 1974–1988 in Brazil)
Audi 80 (Typ 80, 1973–1976)
Audi 80 (Typ 82, 1977–1978)
BXEdit
1980–1996. The BX platform, developed by Volkswagen's Brazilian subsidiary (Volkswagen do
Brasil), again borrowed heavily from the Audi 80 (Fox/4000) of the day. The BX platform was
used for the Brazilian Volkswagen Gol, Voyage (Gacel or Senda - In Argentina, and Fox in the
U.S.), Parati (Amazon in U.S.), Saveiro (pickup) and Furgão (van) models. The Gol/Fox was
quite unique in that it started life with a four-cylinder Volkswagen air-cooled engine (borrowed
from the Volkswagen Beetle), and eventually ended up with a more modern water-cooled
engine, being sold in the US for the first time as a 1987 model. The VW BX family was restyled
in 1987 and 1991.[1]
B2Edit
Still an Audi derived platform, this time based on the Audi 80/4000, again, including
its longitudinal engine placement and, on some European models, the quattro four-wheel
drive system, rebranded Syncro for Volkswagen cars. The Santana (facelifted) was produced
until 2012 in China.[2]
Volkswagen Passat B2 (Typ 32B, 1981–1988; 1984–2012 in China; 1982–1988 in the US where it was
sold as the Quantum)
Audi 80 and 90 (Typ 81, 1979–1987)
Audi 4000 (Typ 85, 1984–1987)
Audi Coupé (Typ 85, 1981–1987)
Audi Quattro (Typ 85, 1981–1991)
Audi Sport Quattro (1984–1987)
Volkswagen Santana (1984–2006)
B3Edit
The B3 Volkswagen Passat was the first B platform car to be called Passat in the United States.
The B3 was also the first Passat with an independently designed platform: it did not share parts
with Audi models. Instead, the design borrowed heavily from the Volkswagen Group A2
platform, being essentially a stretched version of it, and sharing the same transverse engine
layout.
Volkswagen Passat B3 (Typ 35i, 1988–1993; 1990–1994 in US)
The Volkswagen Corrado was an A2 platform car, but it borrowed heavily from the B3 Passat
platform for ancillary components (the VR6 version borrowed some suspension components
from the A3 platform too).
The "B3" designation is also used to refer to the "Typ 89" version of the Audi 80/90 produced
from 1987 to 1992 and the "Typ 8B" Audi Coupé and S2. However these are not based on the
same platform as the B3 Passat, being longitudinally engined cars, and that platform should be
considered the "true" B3, being the B-class platform historically longitudinally engined and
primarily developed by Audi rather than Volkswagen.
B4Edit
The B4 Passat was a face lifted B3 (receiving its own generation number is controversial),
remaining nearly mechanically identical, but with entirely new sheetmetal, and an updated
interior design.
Volkswagen Passat B4 (Typ 35i, 1993–1996; U.S. 1995–1997)
The "B4" designation is also used to refer to the "Typ 8C" version of the Audi 80
and RS2 produced from 1991 to 1994. However these are not based on the same platform as the
B4 Passat. These are developed from the longitudinal B3 platform too, with some modifications
such as an extended rear overhang, longer wheelbase, redesigned suspension and fuel tank.
PL45 (B5)Edit
The B5 platform employs a longitudinal engine placement, which differs from the Volkswagen
Group A platform which have been traditionally transversely mounted. This platform (also
known as PL45 under the new VAG scheme) was introduced with the first-generation Audi
A4 and the 1996 Volkswagen Passat. B5 platform cars can be equipped with a multilink front
suspension and a Torsen centre differential for quattro or 4motion branded four-wheel
drive systems. A long-wheelbase derivative of this platform - originally designed for the Chinese
market and being used in the 1999 Volkswagen Passat Lingyu, but ultimately being used for its
rebadged version under the Škoda brand, the 2002 Škoda Superb - is referred to as PL45+.
In late 2000, the B5 Passat received a facelift, referred to as "B5.5".
PL45Edit
Audi A4 (Typ 8D, Avant 8D5, 1994–2002)
Audi S4 (Typ 8D, 1997–2002)
Volkswagen Passat B5 (Typ 3B, 1996–2000)
Audi RS4 Avant (Typ 8D, 2000–2001)
Volkswagen Passat B5.5 (Typ 3BG, 2000–2005)
PL45+Edit
Volkswagen Passat Lingyu B5 (2005–2011; long-wheelbase version for Chinese market)
Škoda Superb (Typ 3U, 2001–2008)
PL46 (B6)Edit
The designation "B6" is used to identify the "Typ 8E" Audi A4/S4 produced from late 2000 to
2005. The platform used by these models is formally known as the PL46 platform.
Confusingly, the historical generation of Volkswagen's Passat are also colloquially referred to as
"B6", given that they are Volkswagen's sixth generation mid-sized saloon. However this
generation of the Passat uses the PQ46 platform, a stretched version of the transverse
engined Golf Mk5 and Jetta Mk5's PQ35 platform, also known as A6 to distinguish it from the
"true" B6 platform.
PL46 (B6)Edit
Audi A4 (Typ 8E/8H (saloon: 8E2, Avant: 8E5) / 8H7 (Cabriolet), 2001–2005)
Audi S4 (Typ 8E/8H (saloon: 8E2, Avant: 8E5) / 8H7 (Cabriolet), 2003–2005)
PQ46 (A6)
