The VW Arteon… very few people are actually buying an Arteon, an admittedly svelt looking, self-styled premium 5-door fastback/hatchback. That’s why this Arteon, in general, is a little bit odd for Volkswagen. Odd, in that the Arteon is a design statement from a company famed for no-nonsense simple, for-the-people, styling. But here’s the deal, the Arteon sells in very few numbers. During 2019, the Arteon notched up 19,000 sales in Europe. For VW that is an abject failure for a vehicle that is marketed as a flagship saloon/sedan. So that’s why we can’t understand why the Arteon exists at all.

In America the Arteon doesn’t even register on the Richter scale of sales figures, in December 2019 alone the Arteon sold just 283 units. That’s 283 Atreons sold in one month… in the USA… the second-biggest car market in the world. So why does VW make continue to make it? surely they, VW, lose money by making and selling the Arteon, right?

Yes they do. Perhaps the Arteon is a means for VW to market their brand, sure they will lose money but they might seduce potential buyers from one brand to another. I don’t know, that’s just a theory. VW is a volume seller, the Arteon is odd in that it isn’t selling in large enough volumes to secure a long term production run.

But VW will continue to make and sell it as it continues to lose money because they can. The Arteon is now available in new limited-edition trim. R-Line Edition replaces the top-spec R-Line trim. It’s available in limited edition Moonstone Grey and 20-inch alloys. The equipment list is almost the same as the previous R-Line trim it replaces.

It’s a bit of a bait and switch trim is the R-Line Edition because VW giveth and they taketh. The Arteon R-Line is now essentially, temporarily downgraded, losing some standard equipment at the expense of the R-Line Edition. But here’s the deal, the Arteon R-Line Edition is limited to just 1,000 examples worldwide. Why make a limited edition run of a car that sells in limited quantities? It’s VW madness gone truly mad.

The UK will get 370 units, the Arteon R-Line Edition will be powered by a detuned variant of the engine found in the Golf R. A 2.0-litre-268bhp-350Nm turbo petrol engine, paired with a 7-speed DSG and 4-wheel drive. Buyers will also have a choice of two diesel engines. The very limited Arteon R-Line Edition retails from £36k GBP.