Friday 1st March 2013

Mk1 Golf GTI: Pic Of The Week

VW's own Mk1 Golf GTI gets its lean on in this week's pick of our pics

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A huge amount of hype surrounds the release of any new Golf GTI, and this week’s official unveil of the Mk7 has been no different. Next week, as it makes its debut in Geneva, motoring hacks and the public alike will swarm to see the new model for themselves. There have been plenty of dropped balls in VW's GTI history, and sales are seemingly on the slide, but in spite of this, the Mk7 is shaping up to be one of the GTIs we'll remember fondly, rather than one we'd rather forget.

One GTI that’ll always have an undisputed following, though, is the one that started it all. Today, the Mk1 GTI still looks as youthful as when it was new; more so, in fact, thanks to its compactness and its unadorned lightness of styling touch. Seeing one driven hard is always a joy, especially when it’s an untouched, immaculate example like VW’s own, and especially when it’s VW itself which is sanctioning said hard driving.

This shot captures the Mk1 mid-corner, just the way it was designed to be driven. There’s a chunk  of lean, yes, but it’s still hanging on tidily. From this dead-on rear angle, too, the purity of the original GTI’s looks are clear: simple, straight-edged horizontal lines, unfussed taillights, ample glass area and a few neatly-judged black accents to set it apart from the lower-line cars. What more could you want?

Traditional (4:3)
Computer widescreen (16:10)
TV widescreen (16:9)
Portrait (smartphone, etc)

[BlackCup]

That image is awesome, I cycle past a mk1 everyday day, it has the Pirelli alloys that look brilliant.

[Cledus Snow]

I still miss my old Mk1. It was on Ebay last year and i very nearly bought it back. I suspect it was probably broken up for bits then scrapped.

[stu67]

Still got my Mk1 GTI tucked away in the garage, been there for 10 years now. Each year at SORN time I think I'll get rid of it but can never bring myself to do it. As an all round package they really are difficult to beat.

[Steff]

stu67 said:

As an all round package they really are difficult to beat.

In taking up garage space?

[Donatello]

We've got a Mk1 Gti Cabriolet. It's had a hard year or so as we were forced into using it over winter due to work commitments.

Things have just landed in place for me to take it off the road and get it in the garage for a year or so. It will go through small works for now, little cosmetic changes while I lead up to a respray, new roof and a suspension and wheel overhaul. It deserves a bit of pampering. It's only done 56k and I cannot ever see us selling it.

[J4CKO]

I had two of them and remember them fondly but drive one now and it is clear how far things have moved on, a MK2 on the other hand still feels relatively modern.

[aka_kerrly]

I like my golfs on 3 wheels.

[Ranger 6]

I still miss mine, even now 20+ years later.....

[patmahe]

No rock hard suspension or low profile tyres to be seen, and no mention of Nurburgring times, still fun though

Modern manufacturers could learn a lot from these simple cars.

[coppice]

Great engine, terrible brakes , awful seats , awful ride , great gearbox and great build quality. A slightly overhyped icon. The Mk 2 was so much better. And the Alfasud which the Mk 1 replaced was sublime - slower, but fab noise, better ride, better grip , better seats , infinitely better brakes , better steering and so much more character. Build quality a little lacking sadly but in the case of my first Sud was nothing like as bad as popular legend. But don't ask about my second one- never had an Alfa since because of its cynically awful reliability - so bad it was funny.

[j90gta]

But the brakes were absolutely useless. An Alfasud of the same era with its inboard brakes inspired so much more confidence.

[2SPN]

Light, agile, simple and fun. Mine spent much of its time on three wheels.

[Pablo16v]

What a fantastic pic, brings back fond memories of my 1.6 GTI that I owned way back in 1990.

[griffgray]

1987 Absolutely loved my GTi

[dkhow]

Never owned a MK1 ,Love my MK11 GTI 16v , the colour looks lovely and its great fun to drive, its sits in my Garage, I have done about 200 miles in 4 years

[Buff Mchugelarge]

patmahe said:

No rock hard suspension or low profile tyres to be seen, and no mention of Nurburgring times, still fun though

Modern manufacturers could learn a lot from these simple cars.

Big fat +1 for that!

[rohrl]

j90gta said:

But the brakes were absolutely useless. An Alfasud of the same era with its inboard brakes inspired so much more confidence.

Everyone always says this but the brakes on my Mk1 GTI were fine. You have to make sure that there's no play in the bar which runs across the bulkhead. I had mine braced and ball-jointed and used Black Diamond discs with Ferodo pads and it worked very well. It was the non-servoed Polo which was really terrifying.

[redroadster]

Why have we let cars grow so big ? this was a family sized car and just look at how huge the latest golf is pure madness,this was the hot hatch that started it all and will be a collectable future classic.

[rob.e]

Great pic, but look at that epic body roll!

[MarshPhantom]

Always loved the Golf GTi.

I nearly bought a very early (1977 if my memory serves me well) that had been converted to RHD a few years back.