The 1996 Volkswagen Passat Variant B4 was a popular midsize family car and one of the brand's most popular models of its time. One example has been abandoned in a lot and in the video above, YouTuber Flexiny tried to restart the car after eight years of not moving from one place.
The Passat Variant here was in pretty rough shape. The sleek and timeless bodywork was covered in dirt and rust. The estate's also pretty banged up in many areas and it certainly looked hopeless.
But not in the hands of the Flexiny YouTube channel, which centres on bringing abandoned cars back to life. Despite not having any dialogue or spiel, the video showed all the mechanical work done to revive the car. It was pretty awesome, we reckon.
The 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine under the Passat Variant B4's bonnet produced 89 bhp and 100 pound-feet (135 Newton-metres) of torque, paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission. Whilst not the most powerful engine on the market, it provided adequate power for daily commuting and family road trips.
The End Of An Era:
The future of the Passat seems uncertain as Volkswagen has announced the discontinuation of the popular sedan in Europe and the United States. The next-generation Passat will be sold strictly as an estate in the Old Continent and will be made in Bratislava, Slovakia, as production has moved from Emden, Germany.
VW CEO Thomas Schafer revealed that the next-gen Passat has been developed by Skoda, which implies that it will ride on an evolution of the MQB platform with cleaner petrol and diesel engines to meet Euro 7 regulations.
Although the Passat Saloon is officially no longer available, Volkswagen still offers the sleeker Arteon. Moreover, VW launched an ID.7 electric car, which is similarly sized to the Passat, and an estate will follow later this decade.
Source: Flexiny via YouTube