High ranking Volkswagen officials have confirmed that the company is planning to launch a third generation Golf Cabrio in spring of 2011. The announcement came during David McAllister's, Lower Saxony's Minister President and Volkswagen Supervisory Board member, visit at the Volkswagen site in Osnabrück on Friday.

Set up earlier this year on the former site of the Karmann holding company and integrating its know-how, the Osnabrück factory will initially employ a workforce of over 1,000, with plans to create a total of 1,800 jobs by the end of 2011.

"Over the decades, some of the most beautiful models in the automobile world have left the assembly line in Osnabrück. We will be carrying on this tradition from 2011 with the new Golf Cabrio," Winterkorn said during the tour of the site.

"It is wonderful to see this tradition being continued now and to know that automobile production in Osnabrück has a future. The new Golf Cabrio will be a great car. The extensive expertise in cabriolet construction that is available here is being harnessed" Mr. McAllister added.

The Mk1 Golf Cabriolet, also known in the U.S. as the Rabbit Convertible, Cabriolet, was first introduced in 1979. The body was entirely built by Karmann, while Volkswagen supplied all the other parts (engines, suspension, interior).

1984 saw the introduction of a larger fuel tank and smaller spare tire, while in 1988 all Cabriolets were fitted with a "Clipper" kit, in an attempt to keep the styling fresh. There were also special editions available, such as the Carat.

The Mk1 had an impressive 14-year lifespan, until 1993, when it gave way to the Mk3 Golf Cabriolet, that was sold for another 9 nine years before being discontinued.

By Csaba Daradics

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