Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
There's no doubt about it. Summer is here, and Volkswagen has gone crazy with open-air motoring. The German auto giant rolled in to its 30th-annual hot-hatch festival at Lake Wörthersee in Austria with the Skoda Fabia RS 2000 roadster. Then it dropped the top on a Golf R Cabriolet concept. But just in case that wasn't enough, VW also brought out a second Golf GTI Cabriolet.
Like the Golf R Cabrio, the formula for the GTI Cabrio is simplicity itself: take one new Golf Cabrio and one GTI, mix 'em together and this is what you get: 207 turbocharged horsepower to redo your coif in the open air. Just for good measure, VW also outfitted the show car with a full body kit, dropped suspension and special 19-inch wheels. The Firespark Metallic paint is offset by the high-gloss black trim, a color combo continued into the cabin decked out in black leather – Wörthersee is, after all, in the Austrian province of Corinthia – with red and grey top-stitching.
Unfortunately, like the Golf R cabrio and the Skoda roadster, this is strictly a show car for the time being, but if enough fans demand it, the GTI Cabrio could become a reality. So which would you rather drive home from your local dealership? Check out the images in the high-res gallery, scope out the full press release after the jump, and cast your vote below.
GTI Meet at Wörthersee: Volkswagen presents first GTI Cabriolet Concept
Wolfsburg / Reifnitz, 03 June 2011 - Volkswagen has now presented the Golf GTI Cabriolet Concept in a world debut at Wörthersee – it is the first officially built open-top version of the icon. There are plenty of good reasons for introducing this extremely dynamic concept in 2011: this year, the Golf GTI celebrates its 35th anniversary, and the legendary GTI Meet at Wörthersee is taking place for the 30th time. 2011 is also the year of the new Golf Cabriolet. While the production Golf cabriolet can already be ordered, the Golf GTI Cabriolet Concept is still a concept. And what a concept!
Visually, the fire red "Firespark Metallic" open-top GTI shows independent ways: especially noteworthy here are the add-on parts designed in shiny black piano paint. The concept's styling focuses on extreme precision with lines that appear as if cut by a razor. The add-on parts themselves are on the one hand delicate and light, but at the same time sturdy and integrally designed. A look at the front and rear spoilers or the side sills designed in the style of splitters used in motorsport shows this impressively.
Visual highlights: the front fog lights of the GTI gave way to air guides for ventilating the high-performance brake system that is used in the cabriolet. In side profile, the open-top GTI's look is characterised by black-silver 19-inch "Glendale" alloy wheels with 235 tyres. They fill out the wheel housings completely, since the Golf's ride height was lowered with a coilover suspension. Another feature that stands out in side profile are the brake callipers painted "Tornado Red" with black GTI logos.
The concept car's interior was upgraded with "Black Stripe" pattern accents and Nappa leather seats with red GTI logos in the head restraints. The seams between the individual leather surfaces provide a sporty contrast; they are styled in "Flash Red" and "Crystal Grey". Two-tone door inserts were coordinated with the seat pattern. As on the interior door panels, fine red decorative seams also customise the leather-trimmed steering wheel and the trim of the gear shift and parking brake levers. This colour is repeated in the red borders of the black safety belts and the black-red piping of the floor mats. Classic effects are achieved by aluminium door sill plates with worked-in GTI logo. By the way, the cabriolet's driving performance – with its 155 kW / 210 PS GTI engine – fully matches that of the closed-top GTI – i.e. right around 240 km/h and seven seconds for the sprint to 100 km/h. A genuine GTI!
Featured Gallery Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet concept
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