The car that almost single-handedly created the hot hatch genre is still very much the GTI by which every other contender is measured. Incredibly VW has now sold nearly a quarter of a million examples to UK buyers alone. Yet when that first Mk1 Golf GTI was launched 38 years ago no one could have predicted that it would go on to become one of the most famous motoring icons on the planet.
The 'Sportgolf' project began in 1973
VW's Golf GTI started life in 1973 as the pet project of VW test engineer Alfons Loewenberg - yet the proposition that people would buy a sports version of VW's new small family hatchback seemed faintly ludicrous at the time. But Alfons found support for the idea from marketing expert Horst-Dieter Schwittlinsky and Anton Konrad - the then head of Volkswagen PR.
An official assignment was sent to the R&D department to develop a sporty version of the Golf and - after five of the original six prototypes were rejected - the 'Sportgolf' as the car had become known created quite a stir when it was demonstrated to management in 1975.
Chief designer Herbert Schaefer was responsible for all the details that would distinguish the 'Sportgolf' from its rivals, including the red stripe on the radiator grille, the larger front spoiler, the wheel arch extensions, the matt black frame on the rear windscreen, the black roof-liner; the golf-ball gearknob and of course those chequered seat covers.
The rise and fall and rise of the GTI!
Following its Frankfurt Motor Show debut, interest in the GTI - as it was now called - was substantial, with an initial run of 5,000 vehicles ordered by VW to fulfil expected demand. However dealers managed to sell 10 times the planned number in their first year of sales and the Golf GTI has continued to be a huge seller ever since. Six incarnations and 38 years later, more than 1.7 million Golf GTIs have been sold globally.
But not all generations have been equally well received: whilst some make excellent used buys, others are less appealing. Some are rising in value, whilst others deliver the best tuning potential. And of course, a few iterations of this iconic hot hatch are destined to become future classics.
Many thanks to AMD Essex, Revo Technik, Midland VW, Rupert Pontin, Chief Car Editor at Glass's and Club GTI for their help with this feature