The most powerful production Golf Cabriolet ever is set to be unveiled next week at the Geneva Motor Show.
Visually, the Golf GTI Cabriolet has all the classic GTI design cues. The radiator grille has a honeycomb structure with red edging and the GTI badge, while the front bumper incorporates a deep honeycomb air dam and distinctive vertical fog lights. Side sill extensions help give the GTI a wide, well-planted stance, while a bespoke rear diffuser is framed by a chrome tailpipe on either side. Smoked LED tail lights complete the look. As on the GTI hatchback, standard wheels are 17-inch ‘Monza’ alloys.
Under the insulated fully automatic roof are four individual seats covered in the classic tartan ‘Jacara’ cloth upholstery; ‘Vienna’ leather upholstery is optional. The GTI multifunction steering wheel is wrapped in leather, as are the handbrake and gear lever gaiter, all finished with contrasting red stitching. The pedals have brushed stainless steel caps, while there are black ‘Edge’ decorative inlays on the doors and facia. The hood lining and roof pillar trims are all finished in black.
Under the bonnet is the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine found in the GTI hatchback, mated to either a standard six-speed manual gearbox or optional six-speed dual-clutch DSG gearbox and producing 155 kW. Maximum torque of 280 Nm is available from 1 700 to 5 300 r/min. The benchmark zero to 100 km/h sprint is covered in 7.3 seconds with either transmission (versus 6.9 seconds for the hatch), while top speed is 235 km/h (233 km/h for the DSG). A standard EDS electronic differential lock and XDS transverse differential lock help to ensure that the power is easily transferred to the road.
As with all Golf Cabriolet models, the GTI comes with automatically deploying rollover protection, front and side head/thorax airbags and a driver’s knee airbag as standard, all of which helped it to achieve a five-star (96 per cent) rating for adult occupancy in Euro NCAP crash tests.
The Golf GTI Cabriolet goes on sale in the UK in the second half of the year.
