50 years of Volkswagen Golf | ANWB

April 26, 2024 Not quite the first, but still unique

Eight generations and more than 37 million units were produced: there is nothing unusual about the Volkswagen Golf. And this is also evident from the five special exhibitions we are highlighting on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary.

Hip Hip, hooray! The Volkswagen Golf has been around for 50 years. The surprising thing is that the family car has not received a first name in half a century. European car manufacturers such as Fiat, Mini, Peugeot and Simca previously had a front-wheel drive car with a transverse engine, a petrol engine and the first diesel. But the Golf was a car in which all those elements succeeded together.

Who hasn’t got Golf? Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, for example, or British princess Kate Middleton. Closer to home, former Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers had one, as did ANWB motoring editor Frank Buma. His colleague Gert Wisse even still drives around one. It’s Volkswagen’s ‘classless’ attitude: you’re not surprised when a lawyer or roadside assistance comes out.

1. Roadside Assistance Golf (1978 – 2006)

There has been a warm relationship between Volkswagen and ANWB for more than four decades. Most of the Roadside Assistance fleet still comes from that brand. The car that lit it all up was the Volkswagen Golf.

The original Golf appeared on the market in 1974. Two years later, a version with a diesel engine followed: slow, but economical. The variant piqued the interest of Roadside Assistance, where they were looking for a successor to the iconic Renault 4. In addition to the first Golf, the second, third and fourth generation models were also used as Roadside Assistance vehicles.

2. Country of Golf (1990 – 1991)

You can name Golf Country as the first cross-country course developed in Europe. Today the Volkswagen showroom is full of such cars, but in the early 1990s the experiment ended in disappointment.

Country is a real cross between a regular hatchback and an off-road vehicle, which Volkswagen built from 1990 to 1991 in the same 4×4 specialist where the Mercedes G-Class was released at that time. The special golf stands no less than 18 centimeters higher than the standard model.

In the late 1980s, the second generation Golf was on its last legs; With bad thunder, Volkswagen hoped to increase the number of sales. But instead of five thousand units per year, the counter remained for a total of less than 8,000 units: for one country’s money you can buy two standard Golf…

3. Golf Cabriolet (1979 – 2016)

The Golf Cabriolet initially had to fight for its existence. The bodywork variant received a very positive reception, because it had to succeed the popular Beetle Cabriolet. In addition, not everyone liked the pronounced roll bar, which was dictated by safety regulations brought from the United States.

In addition, the Golf’s rear windows could not be opened completely, giving existing Volkswagen customers a sense of closure. In the end, things worked out and almost 400,000 copies of the Golf Cabriolet were produced. More than a Beetle Cabriolet!

In four decades, many generations appeared on the market. Or actually there were three, because the open versions often lasted longer than the standard model. Only one did not have a roll bar: that was the last version. In 2011, security technology existed that made it less likely.

4. Golf R32 (from 2002)

In the same year that the diesel engine debuted in the Golf, Volkswagen launched another engine variant of eternal value: the first GTI also debuted in 1976. The idea was a success and Volkswagen has only continued to build more sporty Golfs over the years. .

The Golf R32 appeared on the market in 2002. The then GTI received a lukewarm reception; cause the Germans raised the bar even higher than before, with all-wheel drive, a 3.2-liter V6 and a dual-clutch automatic transmission. Twenty-eight years after its debut, the Golf finally had its first scoop, because such a transmission had never been offered in a production car before.

5. e-Golf (2014 – 2020)

The contrast with the ultimate Golf special couldn’t be greater. Because this Volkswagen made a debut in 2014: The first fully electric Golf. Between 2012 and 2020, the Germans tested various power plants: the GTE hybrid also saw the light of day at that time. It was a harbinger of things to come and for a long time it was seen as the swan song of the Gulf …

Behind the scenes, Volkswagen was developing their own identity, which the manufacturer believed was ready for a fully electric future. The brand tested the right technology with the e-Golf.

Although there were long-running rumors that the Golf would be discontinued after the current generation, it seems that a few more chapters may be written in its fascinating life story.

Volkswagen is currently making short work of an increasing number of names (‘GTE’ and ‘GTX’ will be ‘GTI’ again) and it is hoped that the name ID – designs that have always been used in existing Volkswagens – finally clears the field. They would be mad at Wolfsburg to throw away so much history and rubbish!

Would you also like to be a part of Gulf history? View our range of used cars.