The Volkswagen Group B platform is a

mid-size Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in t ...

automobile platform A car platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components, over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of cars, often from different, but somewhat related, marques. It is pract ...

from the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

. It has been used for saloon cars/sedans, estate cars/station wagon, and

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

s - under the Volkswagen Passenger Cars,

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

and

Škoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

s over the years. Volkswagen Group revised the alphanumeric nomenclature used for car platforms. The revised platform code is composed as follows: * A letter, P, indicating a ''passenger car'' platform * A letter indicating the configuration of the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

: ** Q indicates a ''

transverse engine A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the direction of travel. Many modern front-wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration. Most rear-wheel drive vehicles ...

'' (''Quer'' in German) ** L indicates a ''

longitudinal engine In automotive engineering, a longitudinal engine is an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, front to back. Use This type of motor is usually used for rear-wheel drive cars, except ...

'' (''Längs'' in German) * A digit indicating the platform ''

size Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to linear dimensions (length, width, height, diameter, perimeter), area, or volume ...

'' or ''

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

'': ** 4 corresponds to

mid-size car Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in t ...

s * A digit indicating the ''generation'' or ''evolution'' An additional + suffix indicates a long-

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

variant.

B1

19741988. An

derived platform, the first

Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of D-segment, large family cars manufactured and marketed by the Germany, German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Sa ...

was nearly identical to the

Audi 80 The Audi 80 is a compact executive car produced by the Audi subdivision of the Volkswagen Group across four generations from 1966 to 1996. It shared its platform with the Volkswagen Passat from 1973 to 1986 and was available as a saloon, and s ...

(Audi Fox in US), sharing much of its mechanical systems, including its

placement. * VW Passat B1/ VW Dasher (''Typ'' 32, 1974–1981; 1974–1988 in Brazil) *

(''Typ'' 80, 1973–1976) *

(''Typ'' 82, 1977–1978)

BX

19801996. The BX platform, developed by Volkswagen's

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian subsidiary (

Volkswagen do Brasil Volkswagen do Brasil Ltda. is a subsidiary arm of Volkswagen Group, established in 1953 with local assembly of the Volkswagen Type 1 from parts imported from Germany. It produced over 20 million vehicles in Brazil, having been market leader for th ...

), again borrowed heavily from the Audi 80 (Fox/4000) of the day. The BX platform was used for the Brazilian

Volkswagen Gol The Volkswagen Gol is a subcompact car that has been manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil since 1980 as Volkswagen's entry-level car in the Latin American market—where it succeeded the Volkswagen Type 1 (Fusca) and the VW Brasilia. Sever ...

(hatchback), Voyage (sedan, also sold as the Gacel or Senda in Argentina, Fox in the US, or Amazon in some other markets), Parati (3-door wagon/estate), Saveiro (pickup) and Furgão (van) models. The BX platform was quite unique in that it started life with a four-cylinder

Volkswagen air-cooled engine The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and co ...

(borrowed from the

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

), 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.

B2

Still an Audi derived platform, this time based on the Audi 80/4000, again, including its

placement and, on some European models, the quattro

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

system, rebranded Syncro for Volkswagen cars. The Santana (facelifted) was produced until 2012 in China. *

Volkswagen Passat (B2) The Volkswagen Passat (B2) is an automobile which was produced by German manufacturer Volkswagen from 1981 to 1988. It was the second generation of the Volkswagen Passat. The platform was slightly longer than the preceding Passat (B1). As with th ...

(''Typ'' 32B, 1981–1988; 19842012 in China; 19821988 in the US where it was sold as the Quantum) * Audi 80/90 (''Typ'' 81, 1979–1987) * Audi 4000 (''Typ'' 85, 1984–1987) *

Audi Coupé The Audi Coupé was a liftback coupé version of the Audi 80, first shown in 1980. The bodywork was shared with the Audi Quattro. The second generation Coupé arrived in late 1988 and was based on the B3 Audi 80, albeit with a different suspensio ...

(''Typ'' 85, 1981–1987) *

Audi Quattro The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued through 1991. Background The word ...

(''Typ'' 85, 1981–1991) *

Audi Sport Quattro The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued through 1991. Background The word ...

(1984–1987) *

Volkswagen Santana The Volkswagen Santana is a nameplate used by Volkswagen for various Sedan (automobile), sedans and station wagons since 1983. The first generation is based on the second-generation Volkswagen Passat (B2). It was introduced in 1981 while producti ...

(''Typ'' 33, 1984–2006)

B3

The B3 designation is used to refer to both the third generation Volkswagen Passat produced from 1988-1993, and the "''Typ'' 89" version of the Audi 80/90 produced from 1987 to 1992 and the "''Typ'' 8B"

and S2, which are based on different platforms. The B3 Passat switched to a transverse engine layout while the Audi 80/90 continued to use a longitudinal engine layout. 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, which did not share parts with

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 The third-generation Volkswagen Passat, known as Volkswagen Passat B3 or Volkswagen Passat 35i, was introduced in March 1988 in Europe, 1989 in North America, and 1995 in South America; it was also briefly available in Australia in 1991, when a t ...

(''Typ'' 35i, 1988–1993; 19901994 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).

B4

As with B3, the B4 designation is used to refer to the "''Typ'' 8C" version of the Audi 80 and RS2 produced from 1991 to 1994, as well as the Volkswagen Passat B4, however they are ''not'' based on the same platform. The longitudinal engine B4 vehicles were developed from the longitudinal B3 platform, with some modifications such as an extended rear overhang, longer wheelbase, redesigned suspension, and fuel tank. 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. 19951997)

PL45 (B5)

The B5 platform (also known as PL45 under Volkswagen's revised naming scheme) returned to a

layout. This platform was introduced with the first-generation

Audi A4 The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first ...

and the 1996 Volkswagen Passat. B5 platform cars can be equipped with a multilink front suspension and a

Torsen Torsen Torque-Sensing (full name Torsen traction) is a type of limited-slip differential used in automobiles. It was invented by American Vernon Gleasman and manufactured by the Gleason Corporation. Torsen is a portmanteau of Torque-Sensing. ''TO ...

centre differential for quattro or 4motion branded

systems. A long-

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, and is referred to as the "B5.5" generation.

PL45

(''Typ'' 8D, Avant 8D5, 1994–2002) *

Audi S4 The Audi S4 is the high performance variant of Audi's compact executive car A4. The original Audi S4, built from 1991 until 1994, was a performance-oriented version of Audi's 100 saloon/sedan. All subsequent S4s since 1997 have been based on ...

(''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+

Volkswagen Passat Lingyu The Volkswagen Passat Lingyu is a Chinese mid-size car produced by Volkswagen with its joint venture Shanghai Volkswagen plants in Anting and Nanjing. Overview The Passat Lingyu was launched in November 2005 and replaced the Volkswagen Passat (B5 ...

B5 (''Typ'' 9F, 2005–2011; long-wheelbase version for Chinese market) *

Škoda Superb The Škoda Superb is a large family car that has been produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since 2001. The first generation of the modern Superb, produced from 2001 to 2008, was based on the VW B5 PL45+ platform. The second gener ...

(''Typ'' 3U, 2001–2008)

PL46 (B6)

The designation B6 is used to identify the "''Typ'' 8E/8H" Audi A4/S4 produced from late 2000 to 2005. The platform used by these models is formally known as the PL46 platform. *

(''Typ'' 8E/8H (saloon: 8E2, Avant: 8E5) / 8H7 (Cabriolet), 2001–2005) *

(''Typ'' 8E/8H (saloon: 8E2, Avant: 8E5) / 8H7 (Cabriolet), 2003–2005) Confusingly, the sixth generation of the

is also

colloquially Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...

referred to by "B6", given that its fifth generation was previously based on the B5 platform. However, this generation of the Passat returned to the A platform, a stretched version of the Golf Mk5 and Jetta Mk5's transverse engine PQ35 platform.

PL47 (B7)

The designation B7 is used to identify the "''Typ'' 8E/8H" Audi A4, S4, and RS4 produced from 2005 to 2008. The B7 A4/S4 retains the ''Typ'' 8E/8H numbers of the B6 A4/S4 with different suffixes, while the SEAT Exeo (which was derived from the B7 A4) takes the ''Typ'' 3R number. *

(''Typ'' 8E2 (saloon), 8E5 (Avant), 8H7 (Cabriolet), 2005–2008**) *

(''Typ'' 8E2 (saloon), 8E5 (Avant), 8H7 (Cabriolet), 2006–2008) * Audi RS4 quattro (''Typ'' 8E2 (saloon), 8E5 (Avant), 8H7 (Cabriolet), 2006–2008) *

SEAT Exeo The SEAT Exeo () is a large family car and flagship model, that was built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT, subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. Previously codenamed ''Bolero'', (though not to be confused with SEAT's earlier concept car bea ...

(''Typ'' 3R5 (saloon), 3R9 (Sport Tourer), 20092013) **Audi 2009 Cabriolet was a carry-over from the 2008 model year

MLB/MLP (B8)

The MLB (''Modularer Längsbaukasten'' in German) or MLP (Modular Longitudinal Platform) component matrix is used in the B8 (A4, A5, Q5), C7 (A6, A7, Q7) and D4 (A8) families of Audi vehicles. This is noteworthy for placing the front differential ahead of the

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

, allowing the front

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

to be moved forward 4 inches. This results in an increase in

and a slightly more rearward weight distribution for better

vehicle dynamics For motorized vehicles, such as automobiles, aircraft, and watercraft, vehicle dynamics is the study of vehicle motion, e.g., how a vehicle's forward movement changes in response to driver inputs, propulsion system outputs, ambient conditions, air ...

References

* *

External links

Volkswagen Group corporate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkswagen Group B Platform B