VOLKSWAGEN HAS ANNOUNCED it will take control of the former Karmann factory in Germany, buying the bankrupt coachbuilder’s land and machinery.

The Osnabrueck, Lower Saxony-based plant will be used to build a new model in 2011. Volkswagen has not confirmed which model will be built, but reports from Germany suggest a new Golf Cabriolet could be on the cards.

Karmann filed for bankruptcy in April of this year, due to falling demand for its coachbuilding and design services.

The last vehicle to be produced by Karmann was the Mercedes Benz CLK, which finished production in June.

Karmann and Volkswagen have a strong history together, thanks in particular to the iconic Beetle-based, Karmann Ghia of the 1950s.

By 2014 Volkswagen hopes to have created 1000 jobs at its newly acquired plant.

A statement released by Volkswagen acknowledged the coachbulders expertise: “Employees and former employees of Karmann have extensive experience in the production of small series models, and this experience will be accessed in line with requirements.”

How Volkswagen intends to capitalise on this is still unclear.

Previous generations of the Golf Cabriolet have been built by Karmann, and with the current generation Eos reaching the end of its life cycle, a new Golf convertible would seem plausible.

Our renderings (above and top) offer a glimpse at how a new generation Golf Cabriolet might look.