Volkswagen’s new Passat CC will be priced between £21,040 and £31,120 when it goes on sale in the middle of July.

The order books will open on May 16 for the four-door, four-seater coupe which VW is expecting to sell 2,500 of this year, rising to 5,800 in 2009.

Two trim levels will be available: the standard CC and GT.

The standard models boast sports suspension, 17-inch alloys, 2Zone Climatronic air conditioning, touchscreen CD stereo system with six-disc autochanger, six-way electrically adjustable sports seats, a multifunction leather steering wheel, six airbags and ESP.

GT adds, 18-inch alloys, ‘silversprint’ upholstery, tinted windows and front foglights. Adaptive chassis control (ACC) will also be available for the first time on a Volkswagen. ACC softens and firms the ride of the Passat CC and also changes the steering system to suit a comfort or orientated drive. ACC can be added as an option on the standard car.

One diesel and two petrol engines will be available in the Passat CC from launch. Petrol options are a 1.8-litre TSI unit developing 158bhp linked to a six-speed manual or DSG gearbox plus the flagship 3.6-litre V6 FSI with 298bhp channelled via 4MOTION four-wheel drive and DSG gearbox.

A common rail 2.0-litre TDI with 138bhp is also offered at launch and will be joined in September by a higher powered 168bhp version. An additional 2.0-litre petrol unit, with 198bhp, will also become available in September.

Other options on the Passat CC include park assist, lane assist and automatic distance control, the latter two have only been offered on the Phaeton and Touareg luxury models.