Cabrio-love: 1989 Volkswagen Cabriolet brochure
All brochure images are from the collection of Mark J. McCourt
The long-serving, eternally popular Volkswagen Type 1 (Bug) Convertible finally reached the end of the line in 1980, but its replacement was already in production in the form of the 1979 Golf Cabriolet, or as it was known when it arrived in the U.S.A. for 1980, the Rabbit Convertible.
As it had with its air-cooled predecessor, Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, a.k.a. the Karmann Coachworks of Osnabrück, built the new Golf-based four-seat drop-top. Engineered from the start as a roof-less car, this unit body was no decapitated Rabbit: its sturdy roll hoop was designed as a safety feature that made the circa-2,150-pound car much stronger than its weight would suggest. These cars were hand-finished with thick three-layer insulated tops incorporating heated glass rear windows, and from 1984, they used the GTI‘s 90-hp, fuel-injected 1.8-liter engine allied with a close-ratio five-speed manual gearbox. A fully independent suspension, ventilated disc/drum brakes and power rack and pinion steering with a nippy 31.2-foot turning circle meant this front-driver could handle with enthusiasm.
The Rabbit Convertible was an instant hit with buyers, and it even got a recurring role in the fun 1982-’87 detective TV show, Remington Steele. Its German counterpart was the basis for the See-Golf (Lake Golf), a unique amphibious vehicle that was the star of the Volkswagen’s 1982 Wörthersee Tour; that car can be seen at the 2:02 mark in the video below, and it can be seen in Volkswagen’s museum to this day.
When the Rabbit left our market, replaced by the Golf in 1985, our Convertible was simply renamed, Cabriolet. And when the 1989 model year arrived, the Cabriolet still looked fresh with the bumper, wheel arch, sill and grille updates it received for 1988. While the premium white “Boutique” model -with its color-matched convertible top and boot, leather seats and 14 x 6 alloys- was the most famous, the Cabriolet came in many other colors, and indeed, rocked some of the most stylish steel wheels available in the 1980s. It was then, and remains today, a modern classic.
Learn more about the first-generation Golf Cabriolet/Rabbit Convertible/Cabriolet at the excellent website www.cabbyinfo.com -and if you own one of the nearly 390,000 built, add it to that site’s registry!- and click on the brochure images below to enlarge.
