Photo: Volkswagen
Despite the freezing temperatures in most parts of the world, the soft-top variant of the Volkswagen T-Roc crossover officially entered production this week at the carmaker’s plant in Osnabrück, Germany, the same place from where the Porsche Cayman comes from.
The car, introduced this summer as the T-Roc Cabriolet, is the first car of its type in the world: a crossover that can go full convertible.
Meant to enter the lineup just under the Tiguan, the T-Roc is built on the MQB platform that underpins other models of the Volkswagen Group. What sets it aside is the retractable roof.
Designed using the same general idea that gave birth to the convertible Beetle and Golf, the roof of this T-Roc is a soft top, and fully automatic. It takes it nine seconds to open, including when the car is on the move at speeds of up to 30 kph (18 mph).
“We’ve got a long tradition of making convertibles here at the Osnabrück site. It’s one of our core areas of expertise,” said in a statement Jörg Müller, the management team spokesperson at the Osnabrück facility.
“The entire team is proud to have the privilege of making the Volkswagen brand's only convertible. We worked hard for it.”
Aside from the roof, there are no differences between the two T-Roc, They share some of the engines too, meaning both diesel and gasoline, with power outputs ranging from 115 to 150 hp.
It’s not entirely clear what Volkswagen hopes the Cabriolet will do for T-Roc sales. Sure, the model was not expensive to make, considering the base model was already there, but on the other hand people are not particularly into convertibles.
The hardtop T-Roc is not exactly a hot seller either, but nor is it at the bottom of the list. In the two years it has been on the market, VW sold about 140,000 of them in Europe.
Meant to enter the lineup just under the Tiguan, the T-Roc is built on the MQB platform that underpins other models of the Volkswagen Group. What sets it aside is the retractable roof.
Designed using the same general idea that gave birth to the convertible Beetle and Golf, the roof of this T-Roc is a soft top, and fully automatic. It takes it nine seconds to open, including when the car is on the move at speeds of up to 30 kph (18 mph).
“We’ve got a long tradition of making convertibles here at the Osnabrück site. It’s one of our core areas of expertise,” said in a statement Jörg Müller, the management team spokesperson at the Osnabrück facility.
“The entire team is proud to have the privilege of making the Volkswagen brand's only convertible. We worked hard for it.”
Aside from the roof, there are no differences between the two T-Roc, They share some of the engines too, meaning both diesel and gasoline, with power outputs ranging from 115 to 150 hp.
It’s not entirely clear what Volkswagen hopes the Cabriolet will do for T-Roc sales. Sure, the model was not expensive to make, considering the base model was already there, but on the other hand people are not particularly into convertibles.
The hardtop T-Roc is not exactly a hot seller either, but nor is it at the bottom of the list. In the two years it has been on the market, VW sold about 140,000 of them in Europe.
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