| Roll-Over Bar SystemThe New Beetle Cabriolet features an active roll-over bar system behind the rear head restraints, providing additional occupant safety in the event of the vehicle rolling over. The roll-over bar system consists of two separate housings fitted behind the rear seats, each fixed by six coupling points between the twin rear panels. Owing to their efficient sectional design and their full bolt fixing, the roll-over bars are able to absorb much higher forces than previous systems. As soon as the crash sensors detect the a possible roll-over or collision (at the front, rear or side) the safety system is activated by the airbag control unit. A release system extends the supporting sections to a maximum length of 265 millimetres within 0.25 seconds. At their end positions the sections are locked in place and, together with the highly rigid front windscreen frame, provide protection to all four seats. If the convertible top is up, the roll-over bar system makes spring-cushioned contact against the roofliner. If no roll-over occurs, the bars can be manually pushed back into the housings. In this way, possible repair costs are avoided. |
