Before you start making plans for it, just know that the Volkswagen Virtus convertible you see here is only a one-off model
This particular Volkswagen Virtus is made in Brazil, and it is more than just a chop shop of the car’s roof. In fact, it is quite complicated as the design team wanted to carry out the changes in such a way that it is practical and comfortable to sit as well as stand in the car.
The car was planned to be used as the only vehicle to be used for a complete tour of the plant and it had to be completed in just 6 weeks, which is a lot to ask for in such a tight schedule. According to Volkswagen, there were 30 professionals involved in the ‘Virtus Cabrio’ project.
As you can see in the images, the B and C pillars were completely removed along with the roof and additional reinforced structures were added to ensure that the rigidity of the vehicle remained unchanged. They increased the length of the floor, which meant that the fuel tank had to be resized, and with the added space to the second row, the guests can easily switch between sitting and standing positions.
The seats at the rear are not the stock units and were custom built as part of the project. A transverse bar can be seen just behind the driver and passenger seats which provides assistance to guests when they are standing. The colour Biscay Blue was chosen in honour of the Brazilian flag that has the blue disc.
Other highlights include 18-inch alloy wheels that look sporty in dual-tone finish and a black theme on the interiors. The dashboard and the door inserts have also been changed. Many finishing parts had to be developed from scratch as the roof and pillars were removed. Some other modifications include opening/closing mechanism for the doors, fuel tank and seats. Of course, the electronic vehicle management systems also were modified.
Mechanically, the powertrain remained the same as per Brazilian standards as the Virtus in Brazil receives the 1.4-litre TSI engine that generates 150PS of power and 250Nm of peak torque, which is mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox.