Press Release
Page 1 – In Brief
Page 2 – Positioning
Page 3 – Roof
Page 4 – Body
Page 5 – Interior
Page 6 – Equipment
Page 7 – Engines
Page 8 – Running gear
Page 9 – Trials
Trial Phase
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One million test kilometers with one goal: Perfection
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Twenty Eos prototypes and pre series vehicles passed the test marathon
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High noise control due to intensive wind tunnel tests
Two years after the debut of the Eos study “Concept C� at the Geneva Auto Salon, the series version completed the last kilometers of the over one million kilometer long test marathon in South Africa. With the last acceptance run in “Warmland� – regions, so called by automobile developers, characterized by predominantly above average temperatures – the trial phase is completed. The CSC-roof system, the body as well as the drive train and brake components stood at the center of the pre series phase final checks. Conclusion: SOP – start of production.
Prototypes / Around the world 25 times, tracking every mistake, every noise and all with one goal: absolute perfection for the series vehicles.
Mathematically speaking the trial engineers toke the Eos around the world 25 times. It’s a fact that the ten prototypes and ten pre series vehicles had to run through an entire auto life span in a fast forward mode. The first Eos prototypes, called construction step 1, rattled off a total of 108,800 kilometers in a few weeks in a “mild climate� under central-European weather conditions, like the one present eight months out of the year at the highly secure VW test grounds Ehra-Lessien near Wolfsburg.
In the subsequent construction step 2 another eight prototypes were built. This series already showed significant optimization towards series production. Generally speaking, thanks to pre-calculation and computer simulations, all prototype construction steps start the test programs more perfect than ever. The Eos construction step 2 was harried over 497,600 kilometers of sometimes treacherous roads. Including: steep mountain passages and most demanding off-road trails. On many of these half million kilometers, the prototypes were exposed to extreme weather: 69.900 During this phase, the Eos’s completed 69,900 kilometers in “Warmland�; i.e. in the most hottest climate; another 62,000 kilometers were spent in “Coldland�, in the winter regions north of the Polar circle, and therefore at temperatures, which in “real life� an Eos would not be exposed to neither in Europe, Asia or North America. But it’s a fact: Even at artic temperatures, the first five part coupe-push-convertible roof could still be opened and closed easily. So neither the Hamburg nor the New York winter can do the system any harm when taking the top down on a frosty sunny day for a trip around the Alster or in Central Park. Rides in the perpetual ice confirm that the performance strong radiator of the Eos recommends itself as a reliable companion on winter convertible drives. The same goes for the fast responding optional heatable seats of the new Volkswagen convertible coupe.
Aerodynamic / 350 long hours the wind blew in the face of the Eos, in the end the air was a lot less resistant
Generally some of the trial carriers had to prove themselves not only on the street but also in the wind tunnel. There, the aerodynamic specialists from Volkswagen optimized the drag coefficient, essential for the usage behavior of the new model and also reduced the, for a convertible critical, wind noises to a minimum as well as improved its performance when raining. So the wind tunnel hours for the new Eos added up to a total of 350. More than 143 of those hours Volkswagen invested in temperature readings on the roller dynamometer which was integrated in a special wind tunnel.
Preseries / The last of the 400,000 test kilometers confirm, that a good job was done on the first 600,000
The developers from Volkswagen conducted the last important test chapter with pre series vehicles. For this phase ten vehicles were planned and produced on the production line with original production tools (presses, welding equipment, robots etc.). The testing began with a car that completed 100,000 kilometers in mild climate. The results of these tests served as validation of what had been achieved up to then. The following nine pre series vehicles spooled off another 286,900 kilometers: 52,400 kilometers under Warmland conditions and 30,400 kilometers under Coldland conditions.
The total distance of the development drives reached an impressive mark: The trial carriers completed a total of 993,000 kilometers in different parts of the world, under arctic cold (92,400 kilometers) as well as equatorial heat (122,000 kilometers). The final approval of the Volkswagen board was in early 2006. It was the last hurdle the new convertible-coupe had to take. Then the development teams had reached their goal: The new model received the go ahead for the European market release which started in May 2006.
