When you think of a convertible you usually think of a sports car in the form of a coupe, yet Volkswagen decide to change course and lose the roof on their best selling hatch instead. The Mk3 Volkswagen cabriolet, often referred to as “The Cabrio” or “Cabby” for short, was a convertible variant of the Golf. Besides the ability to remove the top, the Cabrio Shared almost all the same characteristics as a normal Golf including its engine. To say the least, it was unusual to see a hatch in a convertible form. The fact that the cabriolet was not as well received and sales not being up to par compared its regular hatch variant, seems to show that perhaps the production on the Cabriolet was less of a priority for Volkswagen. In any case, the Mk3 Cabriolet was the 3rd and last generation of it’s kind. In 2002 production of the Cabriolet was discontinued and was succeeded by the Volkswagen Eos.
For the month of November we have a feature all the way from Europe! Giulio Grotta and his 1994 Volkswagen Cabriolet, straight from the motherland of Germany. Giulio had imported his Cabriolet from Germany to Italy where he and his crew “Abbusivi Triveneti” currently resides. Interestingly enough, obtaining this cabby actually came about unexpectedly as Guilio never really intended to get the roofless hatch. In fact, Giulio promised himself that he would never get a Cabby. Fast-forward to today, he hasn’t parted with it since.
There’s a lot more to this build than meets the eye. This Cabby was originally red out the factory, but was entirely repainted blue with traces of metallic paint. If you look close enough you could see a slight hint of purple giving more character to the cabby. Giulio says that the added purple pearlessence “give it more brilliance and captivating shades with the right lights”.
In the states, its one thing to explore the roots of a vehicle with parts originating from the country the cars are manufactured from. Its another to do just the opposite, which is exactly what Giulio did with his Cabriolet. This Cabby has under gone a transition to the American side with a complete US conversion kit. The direction indicators has a subsequent enlargement of +3cm on both sides. Original Hella dual front lights and red magic rear lights as well. Although its fitted with a custom made air trim, this Cabby still has its original ‘94 canvas hood.
This cabby has a taste of luxury with a real wood Grip Royal steering wheel. It’s a limited variant Issued in collaboration with Slammedenuff. You can see the name engraved on the steering wheel and numbered on the back “#005”. Included in the list of US converted parts is the instrument cluster that reads in MPH, the central tunnel with cup holders, the same location of the air suspension gauges, and the steering wheel.
The interior is completely leather, from the front panels to the rear. This build would fit in perfectly here in the states.
Giulio currently has a super clean set of BBS RS wheels. His RS has been custom build to recreate the Original limited edition BBS RS Prima Donna that he is still looking for. All the golden details have been played with 24k gold to obtain more brilliance and the BBS emblem has the original red with 3D golden writing. A true testimony of his dedication and the hard work that has been put into this build, Giulio once drove 1500km (930 miles) from one side of Italy to the other to complete the BBS Wheels in time to be presented on the car at Worthersee Treffen. Just one of the many extremes that went into making this beautiful build possible.
This specific Cabrio came standard with a 1.6L which was good for around 100hp, subsequently Giulio swapped it out to a 2.0L 8V deriving from a Golf MK3 GTI with a modified camshaft and Supersprint exhaust. In the future Giulio is looking to refine the interior and above all mounting a VR6 instead of the currently fitted 2.0L. On an aesthetic level Giulio states apart from improving the fitment by adding some degree of camber he does not expect any more changes as of the moment. Which we can side with him on that.
Well done Giulio and thank you for sharing your build with not only us, but internationally with all European enthusiast here in the states. To Giulio’s crew, Abbusivi Triveneti, we look forward to a possible international collaboration with you in the future.
