Volkswagen is about to blow your hair back with serious intent in this, the Golf GTI cabriolet, due to debut next week at the Geneva Motor Show and touted as the most powerful production Golf Cabriolet yet.
These are in fact the first official pictures of the topless GTI, which combines GTI hot-hatch performance with open-air motoring for four, thanks to an electrically powered fabric roof which can be folded away in only 9.5 seconds, even while driving at up to 30km/h.
The Golf GTI cabriolet has all the classic GTI design cues - a honeycomb grille with red edging and the GTI badge, a deep honeycomb air dam and distinctive vertical fog lights, side skirts, smoked LED tail lights and a special diffuser framed by a chromed tailpipe on either side. As on the tin-top, standard rims are 17” Monza alloys.
Under the ragtop are four individual seats upholstered in classic tartan fabric (leather will be an option) with standard leather trim on the special GTI multifunction steering wheel, the handbrake and gear lever gaiters - all finished with contrasting red stitching.
The pedals have brushed stainless steel caps, and there are black trim inlays on the doors and fascia. The roof lining and pillar trims are also all black.
POWER HAUS
Under the bonnet there's the same 155kW, two-litre turbo four as in the boxed version, driving through either a standard six-speed manual gearbox or optional six-speed dual-clutch DSG transmission.
Maximum torque of 280 Nm is available from 1700 revs to the power peak at 5300, and a standard EDS electronic differential lock and XDS transverse differential lock help you lay the power on the blacktop.
The convertible is, inevitably, considerably heavier than its hatch sibling, so the 0-100 sprint takes all of 7.3 seconds (versus 6.9 seconds for the hatch) while top speed is 235km/h (233 for the DSG).
As with all Golf convertibles, the GTI has automatic rollover protection, front and side head/thorax airbags and a driver's knee airbag as standard, which helped to score a five-star Euro NCAP rating for adult occupancy.
Sadly, VWSA has no plans to introduce the GTI Cabriolet in South Africa.