Sedan and wagon prototypes of the redesigned 2011 Volkswagen Passat have been pulling travel trailers all over Germany. They have the sleeker lines of the current VW CC, but we can never quite make out their face. Well, someone scanned in a photo of the car from a brochure and now the mystery is over.

We won't get this exact car, of course, but more than likely, the Tennessee-built New Midsize Sedan will look like this car – while adding a little country-western flair, perhaps matching boots with special-edition Wrangler jeans.

Auto Express is predicting a Paris Auto Show unveil for the revamped Passat, which seems reasonable. The Web site also suggests that in addition to mainstream diesel and 2.0T flavors, there will be a Volkswagen Passat R with the Golf R's 268-horsepower version of the 2.0T. Also possible, we guess, since VW has sold an R36 Passat in Europe.

But does 268 hp really constitute an "R" offering on a midsize sedan that weighs over 3,300 pounds in 2010? We think not. Seriously, geez, this should be the base state of tune for the gas engine on the Passat/NMS.

Auto Express via Autoblog