The VW CrossBlue Coupe Concept will debut in Shanghai over the weekend.

We’re still a couple days away from the weekend media previews at the Shanghai Auto Show but with plenty of new product and concept vehicles scheduled to debut there it’s probably no surprise to see a number of them start to leak out.  A day after we got an unauthorized look at the Mercedes GLA show car, we’ve now gotten a handful of renderings showing the Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe Concept.

If the name strikes a chord that’s because the German maker unveiled its earlier CrossBlue Concept – a seven-seat crossover – in Detroit earlier this year.

While we’ll have to wait for VW to release full details – such as whether the Coupe Concept maintains or drops the original CrossBlue Concept’s three-row, 7-seat layout – it appears they share a common platform that measures in at 4.89 meters long and 2.02 meters wide. The wheelbase is 2.98 meters.

The plug-in drivetrain is said to deliver up to 79 mpg -- and as much as 20 miles per charge.

Significantly, the CrossBlue Coupe rides on the same MQB small car/crossover platform that is becoming the foundation for the vast majority of vehicles in the Volkswagen Group empire, from Seat to Skoda to Audi.

The buzz is that CrossBlue shown in Detroit will replace the current Volkswagen Tiguan. The CrossBlue Coupe Concept suggests VW will follow the strategy of the rest of the German industry and offer coupe-like alternatives to its more boxy 4-door CUVs.

In show car trim, the concept relies on a plug-in hybrid system pairing a turbocharged V-6 with twin electric motors. They reportedly produce a combined 415-hp, no small number considering the CrossBlue Coupe Concept’s relatively modest size.  That is apparently good enough to launch the 2-door from 0 to 100 kmh (0 to 62.5 mph) in just 5.9 seconds.

Nonetheless, VW will claim fuel consumption of a mere 3 liters per 100 km. In U.S. terms, that would work out to 79 mpg.  The CrossBlue Coupe Concept’s lithium-ion battery pack, meanwhile, can handle just over 20 miles per charge.

VW plans to release full, official details on the CrossBlue Coupe Concept ahead of its weekend launch, so we’ll see if there’s more worth noting then.