Diesel Beetle Will Debut for US at Chicago Motor Show

The Chicago Motor Show, which begins on February 8 for the press and usually is it an uneventful show, but this year there are actually a few debuts happening there. Volkswagen will debut the Beetle TDI at the show that will go on sale this summer. 

The 2013 Beetle TDI is powered by VW's ubiquitous 2.0 turbo diesel with 140hp and 236lb-ft of torque and comes with either a six-speed manual or DSG gearbox. 

Outside, the Beetle TDI wears unique 17in wheels, TDI badges and chrome trim. Inside the car's have all of the same instruments as the standard Beetle, plus oil temperature gauge, turbo boost gauge and stopwatch. 

Otherwise, the diesel is identical to the standard Beetle. 

It will be available with three trim levels: TDI, TDI with sunroof and TDI with sunroof, sound and navigation. The TDI with sunroof gets a sunroof, obviously, a six-disc CD changer and full-color touchscreen radio. The TDI with sunroof, sound and navigation adds VW's five-inch touchscreen navigation, an additional sunroof and Panasonic speakers with directional sound.