The Titan goddess of dawn better known as Eos has taken rebirth in the form of the Golf-based folding-hardtop convertible from Volkswagen. The car was displayed at the recently concluded Los Angeles auto show and it came with a very heavy face lift which gave it the similarity to the goddess of dawn. The chrome tongue design of the grille which company’s former design chief Murat Gunak, had created and had been the company’s signature design till now has been replaced with a wide horizontal grille. The stylistic clutter has also been cleaned up. The headlights have been replaced by rectangular units instead of the former round ones. This mounting holds the car’s LED daytime running lights, and the LED taillights too lose their glitzy white circle for an M-shaped look. To cater for higher cornering speeds the rear diffuser has been incorporated.
The folding roof design of the Eos has been retained as has been the other major design aspects of the car. As an engineering feat, if it is to be so termed, a built in sunroof can be opened even while the car is closed.
Even the interior designing has been left to its own with minor modification applied. There is a new HVAC control panel installed. For the European model there would be some optional configurations available for the base model. Self parking assistant, automatic high beam function and key less entry and start system as also a convertible-top control are some of these optional fits. For the US market though there is yet uncertainty on the options that would be available. This is because in the US customers opt for pre-packaged ‘take it home right now models’ is what is preferred. Dealers therefore would face uncertainty in case of the optional being offered.
For the same reason Eos would come with a 2.0 liter four cylinder TSI engine installed for the cars in the US market. An EA888 family derivative, this engine delivers 200 hp and has a six speed “wet” dual clutch system for transmission. Once again there is no confirmation if the six speed manual option would be available for the US market cars. Acceleration figures stand at 0 to 60 mph in seven seconds with top speed limited to 130 mph. the European market however would enjoy a large number of engine fit options too with the 1.4 liter delivering 122 hp right up to the 2.0 liter TSI delivering 210 hp. The top speed in this case would be 147 mph. In addition there would also be the option of selecting the 2.0 liter diesel engine model delivering 140 hp. The 3.6 liter VR6 model delivering 260 hp which was available in Germany has been removed.
Price of the cars would start from $33,710 and the 2012 Eos would be unveiled on November 17. Deliveries to the US market is expected to commence end March. This would give time to the dealers to stock up before the season for convertible season begins.
Source: caranddriver
