Hitler's 'peoples car', Volkswagen are responsible for some truly iconic motor cars. Not least of which the Golf and Golf GTI (sold elsewhere round the globe under the names VW Rabbit, VW Caribe, VW CitiGolf and VW Caddy). After the Porsche designed VW Beetle began to suffer declining sales after a 30 year run, VW needed to come up with a modern, cheap and reliable mass produced car that could compete with the japenese. This was at the time that Audi had just been incorporated into the Volkswagen Group, the expertise in building front engined cars that Audi brought to the table became instrumental in the Golf's success. Design of the Golf Mk1 was left to the legendary designer Giorgio Giugiaro of Ital Design (the man responsible for the Lotus Esprit, Fiat Panda, Lancia Delta and Seat Ibiza to name a few) and the golf was one of the last mass-production vehicles to be penned by a single man, as opposed to a team. Giorgio came up with a hatchback design, to be fitted with a water-cooled, front mounted, front-wheel drive 1600 Audi GT engine; the car we now know as the VW Mk1 Golf (named after the German word, golfstrum, for gulfstream).

The Volkswagen Golf opened to impressive reveiws when production began on a mass-scale at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg plant. Initially the Golf was offered in 2 or 4 door variants, with a choice of a 1100cc 50bhp engine, or a 1600cc 75bhp engine. Due to VW's repuation for reliability, cheap production costs and the cars distinctive, 'folded paper' styling, the Golf was a hit. However it was not until a year or so later, when VW released the GTI, that a legend was born and the 'hot hatch' class of cars began.

In developing the Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI, VW added fuel injection to improve throttle response, and raised the engine's compression ratio which, coupled with various other changes, increased power to 110bhp. Aesthetic changes were few as it was decided that the marginal improvements aerodynamic additions gave the car were outweighed by the additional weight they incurred the car. Only a slight front apron was added. Despite this air of prudence being born of a purely practical nature, it became a design choice that was to continue throughout generations of Golf GTI's, adding to the car's status as a cult classic.

The Golf GTI's 57% increase in power over the standard model and the cars eagerness to rev, along with additions such as Blistein dampers, vented front discs, Recaro seats and a lower ride height ensured that the Golf GTI coined the term 'hot hatch' and meant dealers could not order them fast enough. Such is the popularity and iconic status of the Mk1 Golf GTI that the car is still on sale to this day in South Africa with only some very minor alterations to the orginal, 1975 formula (although the car is known as a Citi R).

After a minor facelift of the Mk1 in 1980 (the most notable result of which was square headlamps on U.S versions of the car), VW decided that due to the success of the Golf in popularising hatchbacks, that the Golf name would also be used on a cabriolet Volkswagen. The VW Golf cabriolet/convertible went into production at the Karmann plant those wishing to buy cabrio Golfs ensured demand was such that the car's production run went through to the release of the Mk3 Golf (a Mk2 cabrio was never made).

1984 saw the release of the Mk2 Golf. VW aimed at taking a larger peice of the market with the release of their second generation and this was reflected in their vast model range, including a 1.6L Diesel, DOHC 1.8L 16V, 1.8L 8V GTI, 1.8L 16V GTI, a supercharged 8V G60 (with a 4 wheel drive option), a limited edition G60 Limited, a race derivative called the Rallye, a light off-roader called the Golf Country and a GTI trimmed non fuel injected car known as the Golf Driver, to name a few.

While other derivatives were selling well the Mk2 GTI came in for some relatively poor reveiws. Despite accolades such as being named Motor Trend's Car of the Year 1985, petrol heads dismissed the VW Golf GTI Mk2 as soft in comparision to the Mk1 with such people preffering the Peugeot 205 GTI (in europe) or the Honda Civic S (in the states).

The VW Golf continued to sell well and Volkswagen did manage to claw back some of the enthusiasts the Mk2 Golf GTI lost them, through the Mk3 Golf VR6, and more recently with the Mk5 R32. Other variations on the Golf theme were the saloon/sedan variants under the name of Jetta in the states and Bora in Europe. The Volkswagen Golf is highly regarded as a solid, depedable car with sporting credentials, which is why VW have sold over 25 million Golfs world wide since its release. However the basis of this sucess and still a key factor behind it is the cult, iconic status of the original 'hot hatch', the Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI.