VW Golf R and GTI Cabriolets drop in

By Luke Madden

02nd June 2011

Volkswagen has unveiled its fastest ever cabriolets at the Worthersee GTI show in Austria this week with the Golf Cabriolet R concept and the Golf Cabriolet GTI concept.

The new models were wheeled out alongside the Golf GTI Edition 35 – built to celebrate 35 years of Volkswagen’s iconic hot-hatch.

The R Convertible is mechanically identical to its hard-top sibling, with 266bhp produced by a 2.0-litre TSI engine and delivered to all four wheels through a seven-speed DSG gearbox or six-speed manual. The concept car is able to sprint from 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds – exactly the same time it takes the hard-top to complete the benchmark sprint. Top speed remains at 155mph making this the fastest Golf convertible ever produced.

VW revealed that it's currently gauging public reaction to the R concept and if there is enough interest it will go into production. Judging by the crowds that swamped the R as it was driven on stage, it may not be long until we see the fastest ever Golf convertible on the roads.

Also revealed at Worthersee was another hot VW drop-top. Based on the current Golf Cabrio, the GTI variant was sporting large alloys, an aggressive bodykit and twin chrome exhausts mounted either side of a bespoke rear apron.

A VW spokesman revealed that the Golf GTI’s 207bhp 2.0-litre TSI engine is already available in the Cabriolet line-up so it’s unlikely a GTI badged model will ever see production, but many of the concept’s styling touches – including the alloys and bodykit could be available as optional extras in the future.