[Car History] When it comes to its classic models, I’m afraid there is no one who doesn’t know the name except the familiar ones. The Beatles laid a solid foundation for the Volkswagen brand, and Dave became the spiritual and material double pillar of the Volkswagen Group. Just like the popular saying that "with golf (), there will be all models of the public", golf has become synonymous with the public. Since its birth in 1974, after 39 years of development, today’s golf has evolved into the seventh generation. Although most people have already memorized the history of golf, it doesn’t prevent you from revisiting the legendary development history of this Volkswagen classic model again, and maybe you can gain something new.
The background of golf: replacing the exhausted Beetle (Volkswagen EA-276 prototype)
Although the Beetle has brought great honor and benefits to the public, it has not changed much since it was officially born in 1938. At the end of 1960s, the sales volume of the Beetle dropped sharply. Volkswagen knew that the exhausted Beetle could not meet the people’s demand for the "national car" in terms of technology and the utilization of the interior space, and the successor to develop the "national car" was officially put on the agenda. In 1969, two prototypes, EA-266 and EA-276, were born one after another. Because EA-266 was placed in the lower rear seat, it was quickly eliminated by the noise and smell from the engine, while EA-276 with layout was successfully promoted. The car was equipped with a 1.5-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine with 44 horsepower, and its square shape was probably not very pleasing. This is the prototype of Volkswagen Golf.
Note: Many people mistakenly think that the name of Golf comes from Golf. In fact, the naming method of Golf follows the consistent style of Volkswagen, that is, many of its models are named after the wind, as we know, Santana and others, and Golf comes from a warm current in the Gulf of Mexico.
The First Generation Golf Mk1(Typ 17)——1974-1983
Classic, the first "hatchback"
In May 1974, the first generation of golf officially entered people’s sight. Compared with the slightly rigid shape of EA-276 prototype, the "origami" design concept put forward by Italian car designer Giorgetto endowed the first generation of golf with an indelible classic shape. Maybe you don’t like its square-headed, square-brained shape, but when you look at it again today, you will find that this simple line is so intriguing. The whole plastic air intake grille is inlaid with two round headlights, and the front bumper hanging on the front of the car is shaped like a chopstick. Although it is a new "national car", chrome decoration is still full of air intake grille, bumper edge and body waist line. (Click to enter the biography of Giorgetto, the master of automobile design)
The first generation golf adopted the same hatchback shape as the prototype EA-276, and the concept of "hatchback" was first applied by golf and introduced into the field of automobile design. Compared with the prototype, the angle of the trunk cover of golf is more inclined. "Chopsticks" are always a pair, not one. Except for the turn signals on both sides of the front bumper, the front and rear bumpers are strikingly similar in size and shape, and the prominent wheel eyebrows make their simple shape have a sense of hierarchy. The first generation of golf is divided into two types: two-door hatchback and four-door hatchback. Taking the golf hatchback version as an example, its vehicle size is 3705mm long, 1610mm wide, 1395mm high and 2400mm high, and its weight is only 790kg.
The interior design of the first generation golf seems a bit too simple as its modeling. The Volkswagen "Wolfsburg" logo was placed in the center of the two-spoke steering wheel. The left side of the double-barrel instrument panel was not a tachometer, but a "disguised" clock. The water temperature and fuel gauge were located at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock respectively, and the right side was a speedometer. The only thing that can make people shine in the car is the silver plaque on the center console. A large area under the T-shaped area of the center console has been ruthlessly wasted. Interestingly, the gear sign is placed above the cigarette lighter near the co-pilot’s side. For beginners, this design will inevitably make people crazy.
The first generation of golf adopts the structure of front and back half. Compared with the previous "national car" Beetle, golf has been greatly improved in maneuverability and practicality. The configuration of the first generation golf can only be considered enough. All you can see in the car are simple and practical configurations such as radio, air conditioner and hand-cranked window. In addition, Volkswagen also equipped the first generation of golf with front wheel disc brake system and rear wheel drum brake system. These configurations may not be worth mentioning at present, but as the successor of the Beatles, the overall quality of golf is still satisfactory.
In terms of power, the first-generation golf, which was originally launched, was only equipped with a 1.1-liter inline four-cylinder engine, with a maximum of 50 horsepower and a maximum of 78 N m. Since then, Volkswagen has successively launched golf models with 1.3 liters, 1.5 liters, 1.6 liters, 1.7 liters, 1.5 liters and 1.6 liters. Among them, the 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine has a maximum power of 86 HP (63kW)/5600rpm and a maximum torque of 127 N m/3200 rpm, which is matched with the engine at 4, 5 and 3 speeds.
In March, 1975, the first generation of sports golf model-Golf GTI appeared, and it was officially listed in June, 1976. The first generation of GTI also has two models, three-door and five-door hatchback, for consumers to choose from. The original intention of GTI is to let consumers enjoy driving even if they buy economical cars. In order to be different from ordinary golf, GTI, as a sports model, has made some optimization in appearance details, the most obvious of which is a circle of red decorative lines on the periphery of the front air intake grille, with a black Volkswagen logo in the center, the "GTI" on the side is particularly conspicuous, and the front and rear bumpers are also chrome-plated. At the same time, the plastic black spoiler under the front of the car complements the black wheel eyebrows, which further highlights the exclusive sense of GTI.
Volkswagen has rendered the sporty atmosphere of the first generation GTI interior to the extreme. The monotonous two-spoke steering wheel on the regular version was replaced by a three-spoke competitive steering wheel with the logo of Wolfsburg. What about the clock on the left side of the original dashboard? For GTI, which pursues sports, the tachometer is more pragmatic. In order not to destroy the overall color of the interior, the silver center console panel has also been changed to black. Before, the sealed part under the center console was changed into a storage space. The oil temperature gauge on the left side below also reminds you at all times that this is a sporty car, and the forgotten clock is placed on the right side of the oil temperature gauge. The most exciting thing for fans is the Golf ball-shaped stopper. Is this to match the name of Golf? Who cares! What fans are after is an excellent feel.
A sporty appearance alone is definitely not enough for fans to pay for it willingly. The first generation GTI is equipped with a 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder naturally aspirated fuel injection engine, with a maximum power of 110 HP (81 kW)/6,100 rpm and a maximum torque of 140 N m/5,000 rpm. For a GTI weighing only 810kg, its acceleration time of 0-100km/h is only 9.2. Low vehicle weight, solid chassis and strong power make GTI known as "". With the success of the first generation of golf GTI, other manufacturers have also launched their own "small steel cannon" models, and golf has once again become the leader of the new trend in the industry.
The original intention of Volkswagen to launch golf GTI is only to participate in the competition. Volkswagen originally planned to produce 5,000 golf GTIs to meet the qualification of production cars stipulated by the competition. I never thought that the first generation of golf GTI would be sought after by fans as soon as it was launched, so Volkswagen continued to increase production to meet the market demand for this "small steel gun". Since its birth in 1975, the first generation of golf GTI has produced about 530,000 sets, which has since established GTI’s unshakable position.
As the sales of the first generation of golf are rising, it has increased the confidence of the public in developing new models. In 1979, the golf convertible version derived from the first generation of golf was officially unveiled. The birth of the golf convertible made people realize that the original economical car can be so romantic. The first-generation golf convertible version uses a soft-top convertible that can be folded manually, and the horizontal position of B-pillar can effectively increase the strength of the whole vehicle. Volkswagen has made some modifications to the front and rear bumpers of the first-generation golf convertible version, and the black plastic decoration added to the rear license plate position makes the rear of the car look less monotonous.
In 1975, Volkswagen introduced the first generation of Golf to the North American market and assembled it in the Volkswagen westmorland factory in the United States. The American version was named Rabbit instead of Golf. In order to comply with safety regulations, Rabbit has adopted an "extended" bumper, which is also a major feature of European models entering the North American market. Due to the use of soft suspension and too cheap materials, the quality of Rabbit is extremely unstable, which also makes the German public angry. In 1980, North American Volkswagen introduced a modified model of Rabbit, which changed the original round headlights into a square style, while the convertible version of Rabbit still used round headlights.
In 1981, Volkswagen launched the Rabbit version, a derivative model of Rabbit. The car adopts a double-door design, and the wheelbase is lengthened and then equipped with a rear cargo compartment. If you are used to the ordinary version of the car and look at the pickup version, you will find it very different. The dimensions of the Rabbit pickup truck version are 4380mm long, 1640mm wide, 1490mm high and 2625mm wheelbase. In 1983, Volkswagen introduced Rabbit GTI. Unlike Golf GTI, Rabbit GTI equipped with a 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder engine has only 91 horsepower (67kW), which obviously does not meet the definition of "small steel gun". Rabbit GTI exported to Canada is all made in Germany, equipped with a 110 HP (82kW) 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder engine.
In 1983, Volkswagen introduced the first generation of small modified golf models. The most striking feature of the modified golf is the "four-eye" headlights, which are more full in taillight style and more in line with the trend at that time. Interestingly, the first generation of golf convertible was not modified until 1988. Except for the four-round headlights, the new bumper with the same color as the car body is more full, and the application of side skirts makes the visual effect of the whole car lower. Many improvements have made the modified golf convertible look energetic.
Compared with the North American version of golf, the South African version of golf-Volkswagen Citi is even more "wonderful". The car has three power combinations, namely 86 horsepower 1.4 liters, 102 horsepower 1.6 liters and 124 horsepower 1.8 liters in-line four-cylinder engines. From 1984 to 2009, it was officially discontinued. After repeated "face-lifting" production, although the interior design of Volkswagen Citi keeps pace with the times, its appearance will always maintain the original essence of the first generation of golf, and the Rabbit pickup truck model in North America market was named Caddy for production in South Africa. During the 25-year production cycle, a total of 377,484 Volkswagen Citi rolled off the production line. In Mexico, the first generation of golf was named Caribe for sale. From its birth in 1974 to its discontinuation in 1983 (Citi didn’t discontinue production until 2009), the first generation of golf sold a total of 6,780,050 sets worldwide. Such impressive sales laid a solid foundation for its future development, and the new "national car" also gained a firm foothold.
