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Six Generations of the Golf GTI

Hatchbacks have always been the practical and convenient choice for the middle class family. But if one hatchback has to be considered as the best amongst them all, the Volkswagen Golf GTI will definitely be the winner, hands down.

The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates. The front-wheel drive Golf was Volkswagen's first successful replacement for the air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle. Historically, it is Volkswagen's best-selling model and the world's third best-selling model, with more than 25 million built by 2007.

The name Golf derives from the German word for Gulf Stream. With the GTI version initiating production in 1977, it has been thirty-two years since this hot hatch has been storming the roads worldwide. Let us discuss the Volkswagen Golf GTI in detail.

Mk I

The exciting story of the Volkswagen Golf began with the Mk 1 in 1974. It was launched in UK with a 1.6 litre engine and was could go on to hit a top speed of a 180 km/h. In North America, the Golf Mk1 was sold as the Volkswagen Rabbit, except in Mexico, where it was sold as the Volkswagen Caribe. As of 2009, the Golf Mk 1 is still being produced in South Africa as the Volkswagen Citi Golf.

Mk II

The August of 1984 saw the inception of the Golf GTI Mk 2. The Mk 2 came with a bigger 1.8 litre engine and also grew slightly in terms of wheelbase, exterior and interior dimensions while retaining in somewhat more rounded form the Mk 1's overall look. But it was the 1985 facelifted version of the Golf that came with the real punch. With a 137 bhp on tap, the Mk 2 could sprint 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds and hit 208 km/h. By 1990, the German car maker had sold 1 lakh of Golfs. In 1991, a limited run of 70, left-hand drive GTI G60 Limited with 1.8-litre 16V 207 bhp engine were produced.

Mk III

The Golf Mk 3 made its home-market debut in August, 1991 and once again grew slightly in comparison with its immediate predecessor, while its wheelbase remained unchanged. Moreover, the engine was upgraded with a 2 litres capacity and the first Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engine was introduced in VW Golf. Then, the GTI cabriolet was launched replacing the 13-year-old Mk 1-based version and ABS was made standard across all GTIs. 1997 saw the 1,25,000th Golf GTI rolling of the production line.

Mk IV

The Golf Mk 4 was launched in August 1997, followed by a notchback version in August 1998 and a new Golf variant, the Estate, in March, 1999. The car sold like hotcakes with the 1,50,000th GTI being sold in 1999. There was no GTI Mk4 derived Cabriolet, although the Mk 3 Cabriolet received a facelift in late 1999 that comprised bumpers, grill and headlights similar to those of the Mark 4 models. The production of Golf Mk 4 for the US market ended in 2006. But for the European markets, the production of the fourth generation ended in 2003.

Mk V

The Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk 4 was succeeded by the Golf Mk 5 in 2003 in Europe with an automatic gearbox. But this model reached the US markets in 2006, where it was marketed as the Rabbit. The base Rabbit model is powered by a 2.5L 5-cylinder engine. A GTI version is powered by a turbocharged version of the 2.0 FSI engine, producing 197 bhp that made Mk 5 one of the quickest production hatches in the world. The 0-100 km/h dash was destroyed in a miniscule 6.9 seconds with a top speed of 233 km/h. By now there were 200,000 GTIs on the road. The very same year, Volkswagen produced the most powerful Golf ever, the GTI W12-650. Although a design study, the car featured a 6.0-litre bi-turbo 641 bhp engine which propelled this 'Giant Killer' to a 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 321 km/h.

Mk VI

The Golf GTI Mk 6 was first unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show and was subsequently launched shortly after the show. It came across as the most powerful standard GTI with a 2.0 litre TSI engine pushing out 207 bhp. It featured a lot of firsts which includes Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC), electronic limited slip differential (XDS) and seven airbags. With a total sales figure of more than 217,000 cars in just UK alone, the Golf GTI still remains as the most loved hot hatchback ever. With Volkswagen making it more and more exciting with each passing year, expect the Golf GTI to remain the people's favorite for quite some years to come.

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