Description
Author: Ian Kuah, Hardbound, 192 Pages, ISBN: 9780947981495, 1st Edition, 1991
The Volkswagen Golf GTI is more than just a cult car, it is both a contemporary classic and an international phenomenon. Although history tells of compact high-performance cars like the Mini-Cooper S, the NSU Prinz TT and the BMW 2002Tii that were the nemesis of larger, more powerful machinery on both road and track, no other car has inspired afiermarket personalization on the scale that has been seen among Golf GTI owners almost from day one.
No other affordable car has been as sought after for its badge image, either. Volkswagen must sorely regret not having taken out a trademark copyright on the title GT1. But the real thing is indeed a GTI; any imitator is usually only described as a GTi.
The key word in the GTI's success story is 'international', for not only was this new-generation VW the progenitor of the so-called 'hot-hatchback' craze, but its status as a cult car has followed it into every single market where Volkswagen has put it on sale, whether through importation or local production. Perhaps it is fitting that it should have come from Volkswagen, for its ancestor the Beetle, in its own very different style, was truly a world car too.
The GTI's official birth in September 1975 also contributed greatly to another German phenomenon which has spread to many cars, either straight from the factory or through the aftermarket — the body styling kit. The handful of engineers in Volkswagen's prototype department who secretly worked on the 'Sport Golf' out-of hours while developing the basic Golf production car could not have had any inkling of just how far-reaching would be the consequences of their enthusiasm to both the high-performance car world and the accessories business.
It would be unfair, however, if the Golf GTI alone were to take all the credit for bringing new and repeat owners into the Volkswagen realm of power and style. There are many who, perhaps for reasons of work, need a stylish four-door saloon and others who value the individual but practical formula of a hatchback coupe. And there are the lucky few who can afford to indulge themselves in open-air motoring. For these customers, the engines and floorpans of the Golf GTI Mk 1 and Mk2 form the basis of the Jetta, Scirocco, Corrado and Golf GTI Cabriolet variations, cars which have also received considerable attention from aftermarket tuners.
Enthusiasts' cars in their own right, these variants have created their own following in the various countries in which they are sold and, as with the Golf GTI, there are clubs that cater for them either collectively or individually, for example the Scirocco clubs in Holland and Germany.
The high-performance fuel-injected Volkswagens are a phenomenon of the last 16 years. They have created a new market sector, a whole aftermarket industry and a new kind of car enthusiast. The fact that one formula of motorcar can appeal so strongly to buyers from such diverse cultures as America, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Singapore ......
From the author's Introduction
