Just as summer ends and cold season arrives, Volkswagen launches the new convertible Beetle. Whether you love the Beetle, and its convertible version, or hate it, there’s no denying this thing is a cult car. Sure, the new model is all sleek and sporty – well, sort of – but it has the same silhouette as it did back in 1949. And that must be kind of cool.
The car of course features a soft-top, not just because of the its classic character, but because the designers had no other choice. There really wasn’t room in the boot for a folding hardtop. The soft top still looks like a folded picnic blanket in the back, but hey, that’s part of the retro look.
The Beetle Convertible is fairly practical though. It can seat you, your girl or boy, and two of your hippie friends in relative comfort, while there’s a 225-liter boot to carry their stuff, easily enough for a couple of pipes and a big bad of weed!
And don’t worry about driving while stoned. Should you crash, the Beetle’s got an active rollover protection system, reenforced A-pillars, and a whole host of head-thorax-airbags.
Going on sale in November, the new Beetle Convertible has a starting price of €21,350 in Germany (roughly 27 grand in the U.S.), and can be had with seven different engines (European spec).
The petrol engine lineup include the highly efficient 1.2-liter TSI, delivering 77 kW/ 105 PS, and 1.4-liter TSI and the 2.0-liter version, producing 118 kW and 147 kW respectively. Diesels include the 1.6-liter TDI with 77 kW (including as a BMT version) and the 2.0-liter TDI, delivering 103 kW.
