VW GOLF GTI MK1
The car that wrote the rule book for hot hatches, Volkswagen’s Mk1 Golf is rapid, refined and nowadays really rather rare. Report: Phil White.
It took a long time for VW to replace the Beetle, but when it did, the result was outstanding. Giorgetto Giugiaro’s design for the Mk1 Golf is so fresh that it’s hard to believe it launched back in 1974. With that launch, it set the standard by which family hatchbacks would be measured for decades to come.
There are several claimants for the accolade of being the original hot hatch, but the Mk1 Golf GTI was the definitive one. 48 years and eight generations later it is still with us, yet at the time VW had little intention of developing a performance version. The GTI only came about through the illicit efforts of several VW staff members, but they prevailed and in 1976 a legend was born. Even then, the GTI’S future seemed far from assured. Initially VW only intended to manufacture 5000, enough to qualify for Group One touring racing.
The first GTI was powered by a 1598cc engine. The ‘I’ in the name denoted the use of Bosch K-jetronic fuel injection. As a result, the willing little four-pot developed 109bhp and 103lb.ft of torque, although you had to rev it to get that.
However, that was all part of the experience. This was after all a hot hatch, a five-seat car with decent luggage space and enjoyably sporting proclivities. It was a lively performer for the time, getting to 62mph in 9.2 seconds and sprinting on to 113mph. And all this through a four-speed manual gearbox.
The GTI was, it must be admitted, quite frenetic, but this was addressed by the slightly more grown-up 1.8-litre version which arrived in 1982. This is the version that most people relate to best, and the one we have plumped for despite its impressive £18,700 price tag. It was a step up in both refinement and competence. The 1781cc engine boasted only slightly improved power at 110bhp, but its torque output was greater at 113lb.ft and significantly, this arrived at 3500rpm rather than 5000rpm. The 1.8 GTI is the refined, tractable, rapid Golf that most of us have in our mind when we think about the Mk1. Indeed, it set out the defining character of the Golf GTI for years to come.
Visually, the GTI pretty much wrote the hot hatch playbook for the rest of the 1970s and the whole of the 1980s. It was distinguished from its more quotidian brothers by subtle signs of sporting intention. There was a red line round the front grille, and a GTI logo. The wheelarches had black plastic extensions to cover pretty 5.5x13 alloy wheels. There was a set of discreet side stripes, and the rear screen had a matt black decal around it.
And that was it, but with just one glance you absolutely knew that this was a GTI. It became an object of desire almost instantly among the burgeoning aspirational young professional class – in 1982, if you drove a Golf GTI you were going places.
Inside, you were rewarded with a rather odd combination of the Golf’s spartan, slabby dashboard and very supportive sports seats trimmed in tartan cloth. You also got the signature ‘golf ball’ round and dimpled gear knob, plus a very lovely three-spoke sports steering wheel. VW would later tone the seat trim down a little and fit a chunky plastic tiller (as pictured), which was rather disappointing. But in 1982 the GTI was, ja, a little bit crazy.
So the Mk1 Golf GTI looked fantastic, went well and handled wonderfully. It was massive fun, as well as being an icon of the nascent ‘yuppie’ spirit that characterised the early 1980s. Sadly, it was also made of 1970s metal and had a consequent tendency to return unto nature. It held out against the rust better than many of its competitors, but plenty of them succumbed eventually. The GTI has also been the epicentre of a modifying storm for the last 20 years, so good, original examples are incredibly rare. Prices reflect this, but values are unlikely to drop significantly due to the model’s scarcity and desirability. The Mk2 Golf GTI was better rot-protected and is consequently much more plentiful, much cheaper and much more variable in value. But if the definitive model is what you desire, then it really has to be a Mk1.