Background
Why does this Mk1 VW Golf wear a 1986 numberplate when the Mk2 Golf launched in 1983? Because the Golf Cabriolet continued using the Mk1 platform all the way through to 1994 – it was that good. Not only that, all Cabriolets were built by Karmann, with parts supplied by VW themselves. So it’s a pretty special Golf all round. But Cabriolets didn’t wear the fabled GTi badge until 1983.
Golf GTi. The origin of the hot hatch genre. Or is it? Well, according to some enthusiasts of the defunct French marque Simca, the 1100 Ti started the whole thing back in 1973. Others argue it was the Renault 5 Alpine in 1976. Even more ardent fans insist the Sunbeam Lotus was the first proper hot hatch as its Lotus engine gave it 150bhp. They’re all wrong. The phrase ‘hot hatch’ was invented for the Golf, so it wins. Now let that be an end to it.
Unveiled in 1975, the first right-hand-drive cars arrived in the UK in 1979 fitted with a four-speed gearbox. While the early car’s acceleration was very good, the limitations of the close-ratio ’box were readily apparent at high speed and later models enjoyed a five-speed gearbox. This combination of a long-legged gearbox and free-revving 1600cc fuel-injected engine is thought by many to be the perfect MK1 Golf GTI specification, but the later 1800cc cars enjoyed a little more mid-range torque and another couple of bhp.
On top of its sparkling performance the GTi was also cheap, super-reliable, started and idled fuss-free in even the coldest weather, was as happy to be driven on the ragged edge as it was to amble around the city, and provided class-leading economy as an unexpected bonus. The Golf GTI literally rewrote the book on fast, affordable, sensible motoring.
The interior is funky without trying too hard and the heavily bolstered seats and large rev counter – plus playful touches like the golf ball gear knob and, for the later cars at least, a red stripe around the dashboard – served as the pattern for all that followed.
As did the car’s exterior, which was discreet to the point of near invisibility – and who’d have thought that all that was required to get out hearts beating faster in the greed-is-good and more-is-always-better Eighties was a set of black wheelarch extensions, and a red stripe around the grille?
And no, we know the brakes weren’t up to much but, just like the original Mini, you quickly discovered that you didn’t need to brake half as often in a GTi as you did in other cars.
With all these plus points there was really only one thing VW could do to improve the GTi, and that was to produce a soft top version of it, which as we said, arrived in 1983, although previously badged GLi models were essentially the same thing. Still, it’s nice to have the right badge, like this car.
