Volkswagen Group removed a cylinder from the VR6 in 1997 to create the VR5 (aka 'V5'), the second block to use an uneven number of cylinders in a Vee design after the Honda V3 triples of MotoGP fame.
In 2001, the VR6 was enlarged to 3.2 litres, to create a limited-production, high-performance, version of the New Beetle called Beetle RSi.