In 1976 VW engineers wanted a car to rival the Porsche 911 in excitement but without the high asking price and they did just that. It was a clear winner which spawned the GTi craze in Europe. Fast forward to 30 years later and race driver Hans-Joachim Stuck was called to endorse the current VW Golf GTi and with a big smile pasted on his face after the 1st test drive, the Golf GTi Mk6 was born.
Volkswagen is right at home on the Nürburgring’s North Loop. Even before sales of the GTI began, it was present on the track of the “Green Hell” before thousands of spectators in 1975 – as a pace car in the prototype stage with a two-barrel carburetor instead of electronic injection. The rest is history. Automotive and my history. “The 110-PS engine of the GTI”, recalls Stuck, “had a willingness to rev that was fun from day one. There had been nothing like it before. That is why the first GTI made such a statement.”
In 2004, the fifth Volkswagen Golf GTI, the Mk5 brought back this legend more powerfully than ever before. Between the debut of the first generation and the production run out of the fifth generation, more than 1.7 million car buyers made the GTI a world bestseller.
Now this is being followed up by the sixth GTI, even sharper and more confident than all of the others before it. A GTI whose chassis systems – with standard electronic transverse differential lock (XDS) – redefines behavior in curves and traction. A 240 km/h fast GTI that is more fun to drive with its powerful 155 kW / 210 PS turbo engine and yet only consumes 7.3L per 100 kilometers. A GTI that delivers audible dynamics with a sound generator and new exhaust system design. This is a GTI that successfully transfers the tradition of the original version to the future.
