Volkswagen to launch Golf cabrio in 2010
Click above for high-res gallery of the VW Golf VI
With the next-generation Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit looming on the horizon, Wolfsburg is gearing up for an array of new derivatives. First came the report of the next GTI and R hot hatches and now it's confirmed that VW intends to produce a convertible variant as well.
Positioned between the New Beetle convertible and the Eos, the Golf cabrio will feature a cloth top borrowed from the Audi A3 convertible. The Edscha-supplied collapsible roof mechanism should help VW get the new cabriolet to market in a cost-effective and timely manner, and reportedly preclude the need for a roll bar. Expect to see the Golf/Rabbit convertible, which will be made exclusively at Volkswagen's plants in Wolfsburg and Mosel, popping up on the market by 2010.
Gallery: Volkswagen Golf VI
[Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
BlackCanary 4:07PM (8/11/2008)
Just in time for the "License to Drive" remake starring Corry Feldman.
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Torrent 4:07PM (8/11/2008)
another one? http://www.autoholic.de/images/resized/galerieVW-Golf-1-Cabrio-FIP6.jpg
Oh hell no.
This makes the Beetle convertible irrelevant.
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Alex 4:23PM (8/11/2008)
Too bad about the roll bar, that's part of what distinguished the cabrio for all those years.
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skeptic 10:35PM (8/11/2008)
that roll bar saved my sister's life. She fell asleep and rolled her 84 cabrio four times. the only two parts of the car left in tact were the steering wheel and the roll bar...
Nick 1:04AM (8/12/2008)
And thats why women shouldnt drive...
Farris 4:25PM (8/11/2008)
God I miss my 93 Cabriolet. That was such a fun car.
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Adamb 4:30PM (8/11/2008)
hope its not a "chick car"
like the previous cabrios
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john riley 4:35PM (8/11/2008)
coming to N Am?
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MikeMidd 4:54PM (8/11/2008)
College coeds are jumping up and down right now.
Yeah, it was a chick car. I remember test driving one before I bought my old Jetta. It was a late 80s type, the tear-drop alloy wheels, silver with grey leather. It shook and rattled like crazy, and might've had a hole in the roof. But there was something always kind of fun and happy about the Cabriolet.
Good news that they might bring it back - though it'll certainly eat into Beetle vert sales.
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Sweeney_O 6:34PM (8/11/2008)
My first car was a 1980 Rabbit convertible, so this announcement strikes a particular chord in my heart :)
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thePeterN 5:18PM (8/11/2008)
It's not the same unless it's got that basket handle.
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wagonphile 6:16PM (8/11/2008)
The VW Cabrio: an utterly, completely irrelevant automobile to anyone with an ounce of testosterone in their bloodstream. I'm surprised such a male dominated website would even waste zeros and ones on such coverage.
Seriously, the last veedub cab lacked stones. Given the lame face of the new Golf, I doubt this one will do much to shed it's chick car image either. Spoilers, skirts, and wings won't make this gen a looker, and hacking the top off can only make it more feminine. Volkswagen has completely extinguished my enthusiasm for its cars.
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Papi L-Gee 7:45PM (8/11/2008)
So are they dropping the Eos? Or is this just a downmarket alternative (most likely IMO)?
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montoym 6:41PM (8/11/2008)
Hmm, I wonder if they'd just eventually drop the New Beetle convertible altogether then? The NB 'vert was brought about because of the death of the Cabrio as a replacement for it. So, what would it be now?
As scared as VWoA is of eating into sales of similar models(Scirocco vs. GTI, R32 vs 3dr A3 etc.) I'd be extremely surprised if they offered 3 convertibles of which 2 distinguished only by their styling. The Eos is a mixture of Jetta and Passat parts while the NB and Cabrio would both be Mk5 designs just with different bodies.
I'd also be interested in what engines it would come with. Unfortunately, in recent years, VW has only offered the Cabrio with the base engine. There was a short year or two where the NB 'vert got the 1.8T, but it now only gets the 2.5L. If they offered it with the 2.0T or even a diesel option(would be very unique in today's market), I think it could do nothing but help.
I'd much prefer to have a Cabrio than a New Beetle Convertible any day.
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Farris 7:47PM (8/11/2008)
VWoA has repeatedly told various members on newbeetle.org that they won't make a diesel convertible for the US market. I think they have them in Canada, and I know they have them in Europe, but VW seems to think that people don't want to smell the diesel exhaust in a droptop.
montoym 7:50PM (8/11/2008)
Well, with the new diesels, that problem is solved. I know that's the reason for them not to have offered one previously. But, the T2B5 diesels smell no worse than a gas engine and don't smoke either.
sfast 6:55PM (8/11/2008)
wow, that would be the first new golf cabriolet since 1995 or so. my first car was a 85 cabrio with 90hp. i loved it and i loved the roll bar. so many times i rolled down the street while standing on the seat and leaning on the roll bar. 200mph in a supercar MIGHT be more exciting then 50mph while standing up with one foot on the wheel.
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DriveCritic 1:07AM (8/12/2008)
It makes sense to have a Golf cabrio -- there's a market for cabrios of this size; just take a look at the competition from the likes of MINI, Renault Megane, Holden Tigra, Peugeot 307CC etc.
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