The VW Golf Cabriolet returns to the line-up, in 2012, after a 9-year absence.
Volkswagen has some big news for drop-top fans, starting with the 2012 Golf Cabriolet, which will make its formal debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
It’s the first time you could roll back the roof on a Golf since 2003, and the advanced electro-hydraulic system the new model uses will permit it to be opened or closed in less than 10 seconds.
Significantly, the Golf Cabriolet will build on an already expanding line-up of Volkswagen convertibles, joining the slightly longer Eos model, while an all-new version of the Beetle – to include a cabriolet edition – is in the works.
Unlike the folding hardtop Eos, the 2012 VW Golf Cabriolet will use a canvas roof, but that should permit for significantly more cargo space than permitted by the compromised Eos trunk. Volkswagen officials claim you can raise or lower the electro-hydraulic Golf Cabrio top in just 9.5 seconds – and that it can be operated at speeds of up to 18 mph.
The Golf Cabrio tops takes just 9.5 seconds to operate.
Globally, VW will offer six different direct-injection engines for the Golf Cabriolet, all but three of them available with the optional DSG gearbox. Three also offer VW’s energy-saving BlueMotion technology.
VW is being coy with other details, preferring to have something new to reveal at its news conference at the Geneva Motor Show. Among other things, it’s unclear if and when the 2012 Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet will make it to the States.
The maker does not that the German model will go on sale this week, starting at 23,625 Euros, or $32,437.