Let’s get one thing clear: the Volkswagen Golf GTI is not the first hot hatchback. If we were to trace the roots of the hot hatch, it started with the Autobianchi A112 Abarth and Simca 1100 Ti that came out in 1971 and 1973, respectively. Heck, we can also count the BMW 2002 tii Touring from 1971 as it was also a hatch.
The thing is, the Golf GTI is the one that popularized the genre. It made its world premiere during the 1975 Frankfurt Motor Show and reached customers by mid-1976. Little did VW know that it would open the door for accessible performance cars. Without it, it’s safe to say that the performance car scene would be a totally different landscape.
Since then, eight generations have been launched in the span of 50 years. There have been ups and downs over the decades, but the GTI still remains to be the definitive hot hatch. Without it, we wouldn’t have cars like the Honda Civic Si and Type R, Suzuki Swift Sport, and the GR models from Toyota.
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Initial skepticism
The story of the GTI actually started as a secret project. Even before the regular Golf came out in 1974, two executives from Volkswagen already had thoughts of having a sporty variant in the range. They were Anton Konrad, head of Volkswagen’s press office, and Alfons Löwenberg, a test engineer.
As the story goes, Konrad invited Löwenberg for a couple of beers and sandwiches, and plotted plans. From there, they invited more members to their secret team and drew out their proposal for the Volkswagen board. Come 1975, they presented their plan, and it was initially met with some skepticism. It was understandable, as the world was reeling in from the first oil crisis of the ‘70s.
Whether it was reluctant or not, the board gave the thumbs up to produce it, but only as a limited edition model. Only 5,000 units were to be made and only for the German market. But word quickly spread about it, and reviewers at the time had nothing but praise for the MK. 1 Golf GTI. Volkswagen realized that this wasn’t just a flash in the pan.
By the end of its run in 1983, the MK. 1 Golf GTI saw 456,690 new owners. In other words, it sold 91.34 times better than what Volkswagen had initially thought. Talk about a return on investment.
The boom
But the Golf GTI hit its stride by the MK. 2 generation. It gained more power, torque, and a far more capable chassis. Helped by the yuppie movement of the ‘80s, sales practically skyrocketed, and the later 16 valve model gave even more power to the people.
Because of its success, it well and truly kicked off the hot hatch craze of the ‘80s. Ford responded with the Escort XR3, the French got back in the game with the Peugeot 205 GTI, and even the Japanese joined in with the first Honda Civic Si and the Toyota Corolla FX16.
The difficult years
Even by Volkswagen’s admission, the third-generation Golf GTI was a low point. Strangled by tightening regulations, the MK. 3 GTI was saddled by extra weight, and softer driving dynamics. It was barely faster than the first two models, but the VR6 models did somewhat rectify that issue. It was still soft and flabby by performance car standards, though.
Things did improve a little by the MK. 4 era. It finally gained a turbocharger, but gained even more weight. Again, there were V6 models, but it was more an autobahn cruiser than back road blaster.
Resurgence
While the GTI was trying to regain its footing, there was another MK. 4 Golf that took the spotlight. The first-ever Golf R32 was a super hatchback of sorts, featuring a 3.2-liter V6 mated to an all-wheel drive system and a far more focused chassis. Some of that magic would be sprinkled on to the MK. 5 Golf GTI, often regarded as a return to form for the famed badge.
The MK. 5 Golf GTI laid down the foundations for the succeeding models, finally gaining a multi-link rear suspension that made gave it superior driving dynamics over the past generations. It also trimmed the fat and got more boost, amping up the fun.
The Golf GTI today
The MK. 6 picked up where the MK. 5 left off, representing a subtle evolution for the hot hatch. The same could be said about the MK. 7 that was even briefly sold in the Philippines. Now in its eighth generation, the Golf GTI continues to be one of the benchmarks in its class and still the yardstick for anything that claims to be a hot hatch.
For its 50th birthday, a special anniversary edition has been announced. Simply dubbed the Edition 50, it’s also the most powerful GTI to date. Packing 320hp, it offers 60hp more than the standard version, while torque is raised by 50Nm to give 420Nm. To show just how far it’s come, the MK. 1 GTI made 108hp and 137Nm. The new Edition 50 makes nearly three times more horsepower and thrice the torque over the original article.
It will be interesting to see how this model will evolve in the age of electrification. After all, the ‘i’ in GTI stood for injection (fuel injected), and adding some sort of hybrid system to it might be an oddity. That said, it would be a waste to see it go given that it’s still a very strong model for Volkswagen, and we’d sure like to see it hang around for much longer.
