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Watch the Golf R Cabriolet in action

Golf R Cabriolet
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Just a few weeks ago at the LA Auto Show, we were speaking with some of the Volkswagen public relations folks, asking if we’d ever see the Beetle R that the corporate folks in Germany had just announced. They informed us that we would not.

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Today comes a glimpse of  a vehicle just might be able to get our hands on here in the states: The Golf R Cabriolet. Powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine producing 256 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque, the Golf R is the most powerful Golf ever sold in the US. With a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission, all-wheel drive, and a 17-PSI BorgWarner turbocharger, the Golf R will achieve 19 MPG city and 27 highway.

We’ve seen stolen patent images and spy shots of the Golf R Cabriolet for a while now, but this is the first look at the vehicle in motion. And boy does it look and sound good.

Part of the cache of owning a hot hatch, like the standard Golf R is its ability to be a mental, road-hugging German machine and just as easily become a sensible utility vehicle. The Golf R Cabriolet gives up half of that equation – at least — when it loses its roof.

The roof will undoubtedly fold in a matter of seconds but will then stow where there once was a cavernous hatch space. Not only that, as previous convertible-ized cars of the past have demonstrated; when you cut the roof off, you sacrifice driving crispness. Suddenly a very well mannered hot hatch is rendered a loose lump of metal as the roof holds a lot of stiffness in the body.

Regardless of its potential loss of utility and responsiveness, we think the Golf R Cabriolet looks fantastic. Not only that, the Cabriolet version of the Golf R would fill a much-needed hole in the market: an accessible, fast, all-wheel drive German convertible.

No specifics have been released on the Golf R Cabriolet at this time but we’ll be certain to keep our ears to the ground and bring you information as soon as it comes available.

Nick Jaynes
Former Automotive Editor
Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…
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