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Volkswagen Golf Mk7 (2012): full story
By
Georg Kacher
Spy shots
02 October 2009 09:25
There's going to be a Golf coupe?
In character not unlike the Skoda Tudor design exercise introduced in 2002, the Golf coupe is a classic four-seater with a spacious luggage compartment capable of holding approximately 450 litres. Design-wise, it should blend elements of the Passat CC with the Bauhaus simplicity of the Golf Mk7. A concept version of a Golf coupe is expected at the Geneva motor show in 2010, but its impact on the Scirocco will be watched closely.
And developed alongside the coupe will be a cabrio Golf. The Golf Mk5 never had its roof chopped, and because of the shorter-than-anticipated life cycle, the proposed Golf Mk6 cabrio was cancelled before the R&D work gained momentum. But after 550,000 Golf soft-tops (that´s Mk1 and Mk3 together), customers have kept clamouring for an encore.
The fabric-top model may in fact be among the first bodystyles to be launched - after all, the relatively small production volume should help engineering and production to eliminate the bugs before the output is ramped up with the introduction of the three- and five-door hatchbacks.
What will the new Golf cabrio be like?
The new Golf cabrio will be positioned between the Audi A3 soft-top and the VW Eos which is tipped to move up-market – its replacement due in 2013 will wear the Passat moniker, sources say.
Unlike Ford and Opel, VW remains loyal to the classic fabric top. Typical cabrio assets are said to include pop-up rollover protection elements, a folding rear bench for extra stowage capacity, special open-air features like wind deflector and neck warmer, and a low-noise power-operated top with heated rear window.
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