Volkswagen Golf R cabriolet prices revealed

Volkswagen has announced the Golf R cabriolet, which is the fastest convertible the company has ever produced.

Like the Golf R hatchback, the cabriolet gets a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, but the power output stands at 261bhp – 5bhp less than the hatchback.

Acceleration from 0-62mph takes 6.4 seconds, which is almost a second slower than the R hatchback. That’s down to several factors, but the main one is that the hatchback has four-wheel drive, while the cabriolet doesn’t. As a result the cabriolet struggles to deliver all of its power to the road.

The Golf R Cabriolet gets 25mm lower sports suspension to help improve handling and is available only with Volkswagen’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

There’s no mistaking it for any other Golf cabriolet, thanks to new front and rear bumpers, a set of side skirts and new LED daytime running lights below the headlights. There’s a set of chrome exhaust pipes at the rear, mounted at either side of the bumper, rather than in the middle as they are in the hatchback version.

The R comes with leather sports seats as standard, embroidered with ‘R’ logos and new dials that glow blue. The Golf R cabriolet starts at £38,770 - more than £8,000 more than the GTI cabriolet fitted with the same gearbox, and £5,000 more than the Golf R hatchback.

To view the full Volkswagen range, see the CarBuyer Volkswagen reviews page.