The Volkswagen Golf mk1 was first produced in April 1974 in Wolfsburg Germany, offering a choice of 3 or 5 door hatchbacks and 1.1 or 1.5 litre engines, 4 speed gearbox and trim levels from base, S, L or LS.
Meanwhile a dedicated group of engineers working after hours on a sportier,sprightlier 3 door car with a 1.6 fuel injected engine producing nearly 110 hp! The Golf GTI, as it was to be known was presented to VW chiefs,whilst not being sure it would sell just after the fuel crisis of the seventies loved the idea of a sporty "niche" model.
"The fastest Volkswagen ever" made its public debut at the 1975 Frankfurt motor show, available only as a three door with a few extra details to mark it out from lesser models, it had a chin spoiler, plastic wheel arch extensions (to aid fitting of wider alloy wheels), sport seats a black headlining and the now famous Golf ball gearknob.
In 1979 right the first hand drive GTIs came to England, combining performance, convenience and affordability, they were an instant hit, by the end of the year more than 1500 had been sold. In the next few years the engine size was increased to 1.8 litres with more power and torque with the ultimate mk1 GTI coming in 1983, with the campaign models with bigger Pirelli "p slot" wheels, factory fitted sunroof, green tinted glass, leather stitched steering wheel, Twin headlight grille and limited edition colours consisting Mars Red, Alpine White, Schwartz Black, Diamond Silver, Helios Blue and Lhasa Green, the last three being metallic.
The mk1 was also produced as a cabriolet/ convertible from 1979 with 1.5 carb engines and Gl trim levels, the GTI was also available in this guise, which coincidentally is the model I own too! The handling has suffered a little as a result of the roof being chopped off and the subsequent stiffening of the chassis, scuttle shake is quite prominent with the roof down, especially when you are pressing on a bit! But the main qualities of the mk1 GTI remain with precise cornering and damping of the road surface.
Golf mk1s have always suffered from a soft brake pedal, this is the result of the conversion to right hand drive as the brake servo is on the left hand side of the car and is connected by rod to the brake pedal instead of connecting directly to the servo,
These cars have been modified a lot over the last 30 years, brakes wheels and suspension mods being the more obvious, indeed it was stated that if you drop the suspension 30mm and put on 15 inch wheels it could corner at over 1.2 g!
The Golf GTI is still a desirable car to buy today, with so many buyers being too young to drive when it was released and now of an age at which they can insure them, they are selling at top prices and you must be very careful when buying as so many have not been looked after and are rust boxes under a shiny exterior!
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