Volkswagen Golf ready to celebrate half-century with a revamp
Volkswagen ’ s most iconic model, the Golf, turns 50 this year and the eighth generation car is being given a facelift at the end of January to commemorate the milestone.
The Golf is the heart of the Volkswagen brand and more than 37-million units have been sold in eight generations since the first unit left the assembly line in Wolfsburg in March 1974.
The original Golf Mk1 was a front-engined, front-wheel drive replacement for the aircooled, rear-engined, rearwheel drive Volkswagen Beetle. With a large boot lid and folding rear seat backrest, the straightline design created by Giorgetto Giugiaro helped Volkswagen adopt a new style which was continued in its successors. The first million units were sold by 1976 and the Golf went on to become the most successful European car and best-selling Volkswagen to date.
From its humble beginnings as a replacement for the original people’s car, VW’s hatchback has gone on to spawn high-performance legends such as the GTI and Golf R, and limited-edition Clubsport versions. With each new model generation, the car has become larger, safer and more hi-tech.
The eighth-generation Golf made its world debut in early 2020 and moved further into the digital realm with new semiautonomous driving aids and hitech infotainment. It was launched in SA in 2021 and is only available in high-performance GTI and R models.
In its half-centenary year the Golf 8 is being enhanced with a visual revamp, new assist systems, new powertrains and updated infotainment systems, with details to be announced in a few weeks’ time.
To commemorate the anniversary year Volkswagen will present historic Golf models at various events, starting with a display of the first seven generations at the Salon Rétromobile show in Paris from January 31 to February 4.
From February 2-4 the company will show a Golf I and the unique EA 276 concept car — the Golf predecessor from 1969 developed in Wolfsburg at the Bremen Classic Motorshow.