Call it a primary for Volkswagen: the 2014 Golf R Cabriolet you spot this is the primary time that the automaker has lopped the head off one in all its high-performance R models. However the results are impressive: the Golf R Cabriolet is actually a 261-hp, 155-mph GTI with a roof made up of cloth.

The VW Golf R Cabriolet is strictly find it irresistible sounds — it’s a convertible version of the VW Golf R, that’s in turn a hopped-up version of the GTI hatchback. The Golf R Cabriolet uses the automaker’s 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 (the EA113, for the VW fanatics at home) to provide 261 horsepower. Unlike the U.S.-market Golf R, however, the european-market Golf R Cabriolet sends all that power and torque to front wheels through an average six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission. Those wheels, incidentally, are either 18- or 19-inch “Talladega” models finished in silver of a high-gloss black.

Elsewhere round the car, and from the beltline down, it’s standard Golf R fare: up front there’s an R-Line-exclusive grille and front diffuser featuring LED running lights and xenon headlights. The side-view mirror casings are gloss black, as are the brake calipers and the rear diffuser.

On the interior VW fit four sport seats with R-Line logos within the headrests. All the other leather-trimmed pieces-steering wheel, handbrake handle, and tool lever-feature gray contrast stitching that fits the brushed-aluminum pedals and silver sill plates. The one major difference from the Golf or Golf R hatchbacks is the roof: it’s an insulated soft-top that folds electronically in 9.5 seconds (while the automobile is at rest or moving as much as 18 mph) and raises in 11 seconds.

Source: VW