VW preps new 50th-anniversary Golf GTI for N24
If the GTI were a married couple, it would be about to hit gold. Let's hope VW rises to the occasion
While 50 years is an impressive innings for any one variant of car, the Golf GTI’s longevity is not one of those legacies you regard with disbelief - mostly because it seems like it has been around forever. In fact, a quick audit of the PH office confirms that no one person among the chosen few was born before the Mk1 was revealed at the Frankfurt show in 1975 - so, for us lot, in a very real way, it really has been around forever. And in numbers significant enough for it to be virtually ubiquitous on UK roads.
Among them, the anniversary editions have tended to be worth the extra scratch. Certainly the Mk3 version was the best of a generally bad bunch; ditto the Mk4. The Mk5, which added more power in Edition 30 format, was a standout GTI, and the Edition 35 Mk6 (similarly uprated) was decent, too. If the subsequent Edition 40 and Edition 45 arguably dropped the ball, that was partly to do with the number of derivatives surrounding them - not least the Clubsport S and TCR and ever more impressive versions of the Golf R, which have tended to gazump them in the desirability stakes.
But 50, by any measure, is a big one. So let’s hope VW has returned to the special edition drawing board with a renewed sense of purpose. For now, the firm isn’t let much slip beyond the fact that it will ‘present a sporty special model’ at this year’s ADAC 24-hour race at the Nurburgring in celebration of the GTI’s anniversary. For good reason (there are two Golf GTI Clubsport 24h race cars competing for the first time this year) VW considers Germany’s largest motorsport event to be synonymous with the concept of a go-faster GTI. So expect plenty of fanfare.
Expect plenty of badges too, of course. And probably a numbered plaque. If we’re really lucky, the manufacturer might deliver a front-drive GTI with the same 333hp output as the current Golf R, twinned with a suitably overhauled chassis and stickier tyres. But we wouldn’t bet the house on VW finally digging deep enough to offer a stripped-out spiritual successor to the Mk7 Clubsport S, even with the end of pure combustion Golfs now firmly on the horizon. That would be too much to hope for - right?
As stated in the article. Mk8.5 CSS please. Doing it would be hard comsidering the front sub frame, DCC and brakes are pretty much mk7 CSS bits.
Mk8/8.5 Clubsport front brake discs and calipers are much bigger than those on Mk7 CSS
Neither the Mk8 GTI 245 nor the Mk8 GTI Clubsport got DCC as standard and this is crucial to the Clubsport S' character, not least because it was the first iteration of 'ring mode in a Golf. Pretty sure they didn't get the Clubsport S' unique front hubs/knuckles which allowed extreme (for a Golf) levels of negative camber.
Shame it’ll be a 5 door though !
5 doors opens up the market to more people. Families, disabled etc. I think VW knows the market place for how many doors are necessary better than you or I. As long as it's a proper "edition" no doubt it will sell by the 1000's.
Shame it’ll be a 5 door though !
Shame it’ll be a 5 door though !
5 doors opens up the market to more people. Families, disabled etc. I think VW knows the market place for how many doors are necessary better than you or I. As long as it's a proper "edition" no doubt it will sell by the 1000's.
I saw this on the way to work the other day - I feel old as I remember the Ed 20 when they came out (and I'm older than the GTI....)
Even then, VW will have seriously lost their way with the GTI.
Can't wait to see it, they have to nail this, they really have to its the 50th of one of the most iconic cars built, even if it costs them.
I think I rather have that older version with a 650-700hp engine? was white, forgot that name, looked bonkers.
https://www.evo.co.uk/volkswagen/golf/6541/volkswa...
I think I rather have that older version with a 650-700hp engine? was white, forgot that name, looked bonkers.
https://www.evo.co.uk/volkswagen/golf/6541/volkswa...
5 doors opens up the market to more people. Families, disabled etc. I think VW knows the market place for how many doors are necessary better than you or I. As long as it's a proper "edition" no doubt it will sell by the 1000's.
And I very much doubt they need to open the market to more people for a 50th Edition GTI !
They’ll sell like hot cakes
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