It was on this day in 2006 that Volkswagen’s much-touted Eos model first went on the sale in the UK…with lukewarm results.

With a name derived from the Greek goddess of dawn, the Eos - built in Portugal - was VW’s attempt to gatecrash the lucrative compact sports cabriolet market, following the success of similarly affordable models such as the Peugeot 206CC and 307CC.

The Eos had created a real buzz when first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show but, though it sold moderately well in European markets, it never quite lived up to expectations and was dogged by issues with its unique five-piece retractable roof which was prone to leaking. This was, however, corrected by a 2010 facelift which had better sealing.

With sales steadily declining as customer tastes shifted away from convertibles in general, VW announced in February 2015 that the model was to be discontinued.

In all, roughly 230,000 Eos models were built during its nine-year production run.

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