Volkswagen provides a sneak peek at Jetta R

Volkswagen revealed its enlarged new Jetta sedan earlier this year and the German carmaker has now used the vehicle's European launch to wheel out a hot R variant.

Images of the vehicle have appeared on UK's Autocar website and, according to the site, the Passat R is powered by a 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine, rather than the 2.0-litre turbo unit that propels the Golf R.

VW hasn't as yet come clean on power/torque outputs or performance figures, but what we do know is that the V6 is mated to a six-speed DSG gearbox and the company's familiar 4Motion all-wheel drive system.

Although the Jetta R is yet to be confirmed for production, VW's R&D chief, Ulrich Hackenberg, was quoted by Autocar as saying it had a good chance of being green-lighted if there was sufficient customer demand.

"If there are customers asking for it, we will do it," he told the publication. "It wouldn't be a problem for us. The Jetta's platform can take four-wheel drive."

The accompanying images show a relatively understated car, with only the big wheel/tyre combo hinting at its extra performance. This is seemingly in keeping with the Jetta's low-key nature as the existing 147TSI Highline flagship is a far more restrained looking device than its Golf GTI sibling.

The 3.6-litre engine produces 206kW and 360Nm as fitted in the new Touareg, which would (at least on paper) endow the Jetta with performance to all but match the newly launched Lexus IS350.

Volkswagen's R division was earlier this year reinvented as a separate in-house company (as per BMW's M), which could theoretically free its hands to conjure up more radical creations than it has done in the past.

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