V I S I
THE GREAT № 8
The latest generation of a bona fide automotive legend has arrived on local shores: we take a look at the new Volkswagen Golf GTI and its seven illustrious predecessors.
umber one was nearly a nein. Back in 1975, a handful of VW engineers were keen to put a more powerful engine into their new boxy hatchback, but the VW board wasn’t all that convinced. Fortunately, the engineers were enthusiastic and persuasive enough for the Herr Direktors to sign off on a run of just 5 000 examples of what was badged a Golf “GTI”. They ended up selling 461 690 examples of the first series as the public took to the free-revving little hot hatch with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for bratwurst at Oktoberfest. Unfortunately, we had to wait a few more years before the GTI was launched in South Africa: it only hit our showroom floors in 1982 but, true to form, it proved to be as popular as our own favourite barbecued sausage.
A COMEBACK FROM THE WILDERNESS Unfortunately, once they got old enough to afford a GTI, the badge had lost its way a bit. While generations three and four boasted a few more horses under their bonnets, visually they were less exciting. Gone were the double headlights and the red stripe on the grille. And then they were all back… Under the slightly confusing and altogether un-woke slogan, “For boys who were already men back then”, the fifth-gen GTI saw the welcome return of the characteristic red trim line around a honeycomb grille, and striking new “telephone dial” alloy wheels housed under muscular wheel arches. That pretty much set the template for all that followed. Generations six and seven kept the faith, blending the
Two years later, the next-generation Golf – the “Jumbo” Golf – was revealed. By then, the GTI was no longer an afterthought, but an integral part of the model lineup. Although significantly larger than its predecessor, the GTI design DNA was clearly visible in the red stripe on the radiator grille, the black headliner and the four-spoke steering wheel with familiar round hooter buttons. In 1986, the legendary 16-valve engine was introduced – and that little red “16V” badge on the bumper was about as aspirational as it got for pimply young petrolheads.
signature GTI design accents with increasingly powerful engines and an ever more sophisticated chassis. The GTI’s silhouette grew sleeker and sharper to match its athletic abilities; the interior design also kept pace by introducing high-end finishes, as well as impressive driver-aid and infotainment tech.
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THE MASTERCLASS CONTINUES Which brings us to number eight and its recent arrival on the southern tip of Africa. It is car that’s both similar
PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS STEVE SMITH
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