Eos appears in the metal

THE race to produce the world’s most versatile open-top convertible continues with the arrival of Volkswagen’s Eos four-seat convertible at the Frankfurt show.

The Eos follows the Concept C study from Geneva 18 months ago and is claimed to be the first four-seater car with a power-operated, five-section roof that combines a hard-top coupe with a sliding glass sunroof, and a full convertible.

It might appear to be Golf-based, but the Eos is dimensionally half way between the VW Golf and Passat. It measures 4.41 metres long, 1.79 metres wide and 1.44 metres high.

VW says the recently refreshed Beetle cabriolet will take over as successor to the Golf cabriolet, which is probably appropriate because it is based on the Golf platform anyway.

The Eos nevertheless shares most of its major components with other VWs, including the multi-link rear suspension and a range of engines that include everything from the 1.6-litre FSI four-cylinder to the 3.2-litre V6 – and the 2.0-litre TDI turbo-diesel.

The interesting thing is the roof, which, with its glass sunroof, trumps other hardtop convertibles and even outclasses the fabric-top Mini cabriolet that had the first claim to being a convertible with sunroof capability.

The Eos is expected to be launched in Europe in May.