Following the brilliant exhibition on the occasion of Porsche's 75th anniversary, Autoworld Brussels is now turning its attention to "50 years of the Volkswagen Golf". The small "pop-up exhibition" comprises 14 - or even 16 if you count the additional exhibits displayed in oversized toy boxes - examples of the million-selling car.
The Volkswagen Golf, reference model for an entire class of compact cars and namesake for a generation of people, has now been on the market for half a century. "The Golf is a great topic, every driver can probably write something about it - just like the Beetle 50 years ago," was one reader's comment here in January. That's true, so a little restraint is called for here. The author of these lines will therefore not reveal that as a young man - after three Beetles - he once treated himself to a new Golf I with LS equipment. It was black inside and out, which was still rare back then. So let's content ourselves with a report on the Brussels exhibition. Readers are invited to review their own memories of this car.
Autoworld shows all generations of the Golf together with early contemporary advertising. Incidentally, this was also quite clever in French and Dutch, as the decoration proves. However, there is no German-language equivalent, such as the almost proverbial slogan "Just say: We drive Golf". In view of the many variants and special series of the individual model ranges, it was certainly not easy to curate this show. But the prioritization is convincing in the end: some things were to be expected, but there is still a lot to discover.
One
Let's start our journey through time with an early Golf LS from 1974, recognizable by the slightly curved rear panel, the so-called "dovetail" and the bumpers with plastic corners known as "railroad tracks". At that time, the rod antenna was still housed in a hole in the left front fender, and the 175/70 R 13 tires were not considered to be poor. The car is complemented by a red Golf from 1975 with four doors and automatic transmission.
The 1978 model year is represented by two examples, which are, however, quite different. The first is a four-door model with L equipment and a diesel engine. Even though this was not the first compact car with a diesel engine, Volkswagen triggered a veritable diesel boom in this country at the time. A silver Golf GTI represented the other end of the performance scale. This sporty and considerably more powerful vehicle set standards right from the start. Visually, it differed from the standard model with a larger front spoiler, black trim, a red-edged radiator grille, the "spittoon" steering wheel, Recaro seats with a checked pattern and the golf ball as a gear knob.
Let's stay with the Golf I and move on to the GTI 16 S Oettinger, a rarity from 1982, a model of which only 1250 were produced, developed by the tuner Oettinger for VAG France. Incidentally, the "S" refers to the French word for valve (soupape) and thus corresponds to our "V". The US version of the VW Caddy shown here dates from the same year as the "Rabbit Pickup". The small platform truck based on the Golf I was initially only built in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, and was only later produced and offered in Europe.
Also based on the Golf I was the Cabriolet, today usually referred to benevolently as the "strawberry basket". However, the design with the sturdy roll bar was only popular to a limited extent when it first appeared. An example from 1983 is on display in Brussels.
Two to eight
The Golf Country, which was based on the all-wheel drive Golf syncro, was also less successful from 1990 onwards. The vehicles were converted into the Country model by the Austrian specialist Steyr-Daimler-Puch.
Also all-wheel drive is the "Rallye Golf", of which only 5000 were built for homologation purposes at the Volkswagen plant in Brussels. Right next to it is a special Golf III, namely a VR6 from 1996, whose unique selling point is the transverse-mounted six-cylinder engine.
The exhibition continues with two Golf GTIs: one based on the Golf IV from 2003 and one based on the Golf V from 2005. In addition, a Golf IV from the "25 Years" special series from 1999 is also on display. As a representative of the sixth Golf generation, Autoworld will be showing the all-electric Golf Blue-E-Motion.
And then things get sporty again with the 2023 Golf R 333 Limited Edition painted in "Lime Yellow Metallic". The car, which is limited to 333 units, has an engine that produces 333 hp. The "50 Years of Golf" exhibition comes full circle with a Golf Variant from the eighth model series from 2024. The selection of exhibits illustrates the continuous technical development of a model over the decades while retaining a convincing basic concept. At the same time, the range of the Golf family becomes clear, as does the growth in size. While the Golf I was 3815 mm long, the current Golf VIII Variant is an impressive 4644 mm long.
The exhibition is open daily (except March 14, 2024) and runs until April 28, 2024.
