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These are the first pictures of the new Volkswagen Eos folding hardtop convertible, which is available to order from November.

The first cars will arrive with customers early in 2011, with prices expected to closely match those of the current Eos, which costs from £19,945 to £29,185.

Ahead of its Los Angeles Motor Show debut next month, the pictures show off a Scirocco-style wide horizontal grille, bordered by new headlight units incorporating LED daytime running lights.

The bumper has been tweaked and features a large air intake and chrome-ringed fog lights, while the bonnet has been reprofiled to make the Eos appear wider and stronger.

New rear lights take their lead from the new Volkswagen Passat unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

Engines will include VW's 1.4-litre TSI petrol with 120bhp, a 2-litre TSI petrol with 207bhp and a 2-litre TDI diesel with 140bhp, which is expected to be the UK's biggest seller.

The diesel will be available with Bluemotion Technology as an option, which includes stop and start and makes 58.8mpg fuel consumption possible. In this guise the Eos is one of the world's most economical convertibles.

The roof is unchanged, comprising of five sections which go from closed to open in around 25 seconds and includes a sliding glass sunroof.

It's possible to store 205 litres in the boot with the roof down, with space increasing to 380 litres when the roof is up.

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