A Short
History & Possible Future of the VW Cabriolet
The Volkswagen Cabriolet is
one of those rare cars that has attained "cult" status. It has a rich
history that comes from over 50 years of service and is deeply entwined with
several key advances in technology and the best German and Italian automobile designers
and engineers. Here is a quick look at some of the key players, cars, facts and
possible future developments in the VW Cabriolet universe.
Volkswagen AG
Headquarters: Wolfsburg,
Germany
Volkswagen was founded in 1938
by the German government to build the KdF Wagen as part of the master plan to
provide the average German family with a quality, reliable and affordable car.
Dr Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of Porsche, had developed a "people's
car" that employed several high tech ideas like unitized body construction
that didn't require a heavy separate frame, and an air-cooled engine that
didn't have a radiator that would freeze in winter and was positioned at the
rear to put the weight over the wheels to increase traction.
An entire new city named
"town of the 'strength-through-joy' car" (Stadt der KdF Wagens) was
built just to make Beetles, however it was later renamed Wolfsburg after a
nearby castle when WWII ended. The VW factory was heavily bombed during the war
and, by many accounts, saved by the efforts of a British military officer named
Major Ivan Hirst and the desire to get the German economy started again to stop
the spread of communism. Within just a couple years, VW accounted for around
10% of West Germany's GDP.
Volkswagen AG marks include
Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, SEAT and Skoda.
VW has had several up and down periods but is currently enjoying a rapid and
prolonged growth in product offerings, quality and sales. Volkswagen is the 4th
largest auto manufacturer in the world, the largest manufacturer in Europe, and
is the number one "import" brand in the US. This is amazing when you
consider that VW almost pulled out of the US market because of lack of sales in
the early '90s. VW has a 12.2% share of the world's auto market and vehicle
sales grew 3.9% to a record 5.06 million cars and vans in 2000. The VW Golf is
the best-selling car in Europe.
The vision and energy behind
Volkswagen's revitalization is widely credited to VW Chairman & CEO Dr
Ferdinand Piech. When Dr Piech took command he replaced most of the old guard
board of directors, fired most of VW's top management, standardized development
platforms and insisted on high product quality. Dr Piech was also directly
responsible for developing Audi Quattro 4 wheel drive and in rebuilding Audi
sales and racing success as we know it today. His grandfather was Dr. Porsche
and his family is still one of the major owners of Porsche. He's expected to
retire in April 2002 with current VW board member Bernd Pischetsrieder his
announced successor.
Wilhelm Karmann GmbH
Headquarters: Osnabrück,
Germany
Wilhelm Karmann GmbH was
founded in 1949 and currently modifies or builds cars for Volkswagen, Audi,
DaimlerChrysler and Ford, but has also worked with Porsche, BMW, Renault and
KIA in the past. Karmann can do everything from design and engineering, to
conversion, to complete manufacture. (For example, Karmann completely built
both VW Sciroccos and the BMW 6 Series.) Although VW manufactures the raw Golf
coupes to start with, the cars are shipped to Karmann who does all the design
and engineering, cuts the metal roofs off, welds in reinforcements, roll bars,
new panels and hand fits each convertible top. They're known for classic German
high quality.
VW Beetle Cabriolet - VW Käfer
Cabriolet
Years: 1949 to 1980
Units: 331,847
Manufactured: West Germany
The first VW Cabriolet!
Actually Volkswagen began building two convertible designs in 1949; a four-seat
version by Karmann of Osnabrück, and the lesser known two-seat version (known
as the Heb) by Josef Hebmüller & Son of Wulfrath. Only 696 Hebmüller
Cabriolets were produced because a fire burned down the factory. The VW Beetle
Cabriolet was based on the Beetle so had a rear-mounted air-cooled engine. The
only major platform upgrade was the introduction of the Super Beetle in the
early '70s. For the last two years of Beetle production, every car off the
assembly line destined for US shores was a convertible. German Beetle
construction ceased in 1979 with the final cabriolet conversion date January
10, 1980. The only mechanical pieces that remained unchanged on every
convertible throughout the entire production run were the running boards.
VW MK1 Golf Convertible &
Cabriolet
Years: 1978 to 1993
Units: 388,522
Manufactured: West
Germany/Germany
The VW Cabriolet is based on
the MK1 Golf, Volkswagen's first front-mounted water-cooled engine car. North
America uses the A1 designation, while the rest of the world uses Mk1. It was
also the worlds' first mass produced car with transversely-mounted engine,
front wheel drive and fuel-injection. The MK1 Golf was designed by Giorgetto
Giugiaro of Italdesign and is credited with the creation of the forms we know
today as the hatchback and GTI. The signature Cabriolet "basket handle"
roll bar serves two purposes; to add strength and rigidity to the frame, and to
provide protection during roll over.
Although the MK1 Golf was
introduced in 1974, the Cabriolet version didn't appear until 1978. Folklore
says the MK1 Golf Convertible was created by engineers on the side because VW
management was not actively planning a new version. Although today there are
several convertibles to choose from, this has not always been the case. In the
early '80s, there was a time when the only two convertibles for sell in the US
were the VW Cabriolet and the Rolls-Royce Corniche. This is the best selling VW
convertible of all time. The 1988-1989 versions are considered to be the
pinnacle of VW Cabriolet design as they have the new integrated
"euro" bumpers and ground effects, 4 headlight grills and hydraulic
valves but retain the simpler mechanical CIS fuel injection system.
In the beginning, MK1
convertibles were called Golf Convertibles in Europe and Rabbit Convertibles in
the US. Volkswagen names water-cooled cars after winds; Golf is short for gulf
breeze, Jetta for jet stream, Scirocco for a hot dessert wind, etc. In English,
gulf breeze is spelled with a "u" while in German with an
"o." Volkswagen US thought it would confuse Americans (thinking it
meant the sport) so named all US Golfs after the Chinese
Year-of-the-Rabbit.
In general, there were three
versions of convertibles: standard, fully equipped and special edition. Fully
equipped versions included popular equipment options and were called Best Sellers
in the US, and Sportline, Highline or some-other-type-of-line everywhere else.
There have been several special editions that usually involved different paint
and top colors, top materials, leather seats, special wheels, badges, and
upgraded equipment packages: Wolfsburg, Boutique, Etienne Aigner, Tuscana and
Carat. The Boutique was a special all Alpine white version. There were even
limited production convertibles named after the rock group Genesis sold in
Europe in 1992. With the 1985 introduction of the new A2 Golf and Jetta lines,
VW changed the name to just Cabriolet. When the new MK3 Golf convertible was
introduced in 1993, the remaining MK1 Cabriolet in stock were renamed the
Cabriolet Classic.
VW MK3/MK4 Golf Cabrio
Years: Mk3 - 1993 to 1997,
Mk4 - 1998 to present
Units: Mk3 - 139,578, Mk4
- 57,786 (as of Dec 31, 2000)
Manufactured: Germany
& Mexico
The current VW convertible is
based on the MK3 Golf, and simply called the VW Cabrio. While Volkswagen has
been aggressively updating and adding new vehicles, there have been little more
than cosmetic changes to the Cabrio. The current generation Golf and Jetta use
the MK4 platform, while the Cabrio still uses the MK3 platform but has been
updated with MK4 trunk and fender panels, front grills, head and tail lights,
and interiors to keep them looking up-to-update. In 1998 VW reclassified the
Cabrio as MK4 based. It is the first VW convertible made outside Germany.
In Europe, VW Cabrios come in
different versions of trim level including the Classicline, Colour Concept,
Comfortline, Highline, Joker, Sportline and Trendline. There have even been
some limited production convertibles named after the rock groups the Rolling
Stones, Pink Floyd and Bon Jovi. In the US, VW offers Cabrio GL, GLS and GLX
versions.
Future VW Cabriolet
The future of the VW
Cabriolet, however, now looks like it's about to go through some major changes.
The last two generations have been built on the Golf coupe chassis. Rumors are
buzzing there will be two new Cabriolets within one to two years; one based on
the New Beetle and another on the Jetta. (There is even a rumor that Karmann is
thinking about building a new low priced Karmann Ghia based convertible
too.)
The New Beetle Cabriolet will
be the low cost version targeting young and nostalgic buyers, while the Jetta
Cabriolet will be going after BMW buyers. The New Beetle Cabriolet will be
getting a standard soft-top, while the Jetta Cabriolet is rumored to be getting
Karmann's new Retractable Hard Top (RHT) consisting of a sectioned metal roof
which folds back to be stored in the trunk. The idea is "to have two cars
in one." This system is currently used on the Mercedes-Benz SLK.
Thanks to Basil Maloney at http://members.home.net/bmaloneyjr/
for the info on this page.