Volkswagen Golf Mk1

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Volkswagen Golf Mk1
Volkswagen Golf 1976 Mk1 (Australia)
Manufacturer Volkswagen
Also called Volkswagen Rabbit
Volkswagen Caribe
Volkswagen CitiGolf
Volkswagen Cabriolet
Volkswagen Caddy
Production 1974–1984
1974-present (South Africa)
1980-1995 (Cabriolet)
Assembly Flag of GermanyWolfsburg, Germany
Flag of the United StatesNew Stanton, Pennsylvania
Flag of South AfricaUitenhage, South Africa
Flag of MexicoPuebla, Puebla, Mexico
Predecessor Volkswagen Beetle
Successor Volkswagen Golf Mk2
Body style(s) 2-door convertible
3-door hatchback
5-door hatchback
2-door pickup truck
Layout FF layout
Platform Volkswagen Group A1 platform
Engine(s) All markets except USA/CDN/Japan
Petrol engines:[1][2]

1.1L 50 PS (49 hp/37 kW) I4
1.3L 60 PS (59 hp/44 kW) I4
1.5L 70 PS (69 hp/51 kW) I4
1.6L 75 PS (74 hp/55 kW) I4
1.6L 110 PS (108 hp/81 kW) I4 (GTI)
1.8L 112 PS (110 hp/82 kW) I4 (GTI/GLI)
Diesel engines:
1.5L 50 PS (49 hp/37 kW) I4
1.6L 54 PS (53 hp/40 kW) I4
1.6L 70 PS (69 hp/51 kW) I4 TD
USA/CDN/Japan:
1.6L 60 hp (45 kW) I4 (Pickup)
1.5L 70 hp (52 kW) I4 (MY 1975)
1.6L 71 hp (53 kW) I4 (MY 1976)
1.6L 78 hp (58 kW) I4 (MY 1977)
1.5L 71 hp (53 kW) I4 (MY 1978/79)
1.5L 62 hp (46 kW) I4 (MY 1980)
1.6L 76 hp (57 kW) I4 (MY 1980)
1.7L 74 hp (55 kW) I4 (MY 1981/82)
1.7L 65 hp (48 kW) I4 (MY 1983/84)
1.8L 90 hp (67 kW) I4 (GTI MY 1983/84)
Diesel engines:
1.5L 48 hp (36 kW) I4 (MY 1978-80)
1.6L 52 hp (39 kW) I4 (MY 1981-84)

1.6L 68 hp (51 kW) I4 (MY 1983-84)
Transmission(s) 4-speed/5-speed manual,
3-speed automatic
Wheelbase 2400 mm (94.5 in),
Pickup: 2625 mm (103.3 in)
Length 3705 mm (145.9 in),
later 3815 mm (150.2 in),
USA 155.3 in (3944.6 mm),
Pickup: 4380 mm (172.4 in)
Width 1610 mm (63.4 in),
later 1630 mm (64.2 in),
Pickup: 1640 mm (64.6 in)
Height saloon: 1395 mm (54.9 in),
Cabrio: 1412 mm (55.6 in),
Pickup: 1490 mm (58.7 in)
Curb weight 790 kg (1741.7 lb)
−970 kg (2138.5 lb),
USA 1750 lb (794 kg)
−2145 lb (973 kg)
Related Volkswagen Jetta,
Volkswagen Caddy,
Volkswagen Scirocco
Designer Giorgetto Giugiaro
for an overview of the generations, see: Volkswagen Golf

Contents

[edit] History

Like its predecessor the Volkswagen Beetle, the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 has proved to be influential. In continuous production since 1974, the Golf was one of the first widely successful front wheel drive hatchbacks. In the USA, the Rabbit would spark another generation of VW-alike American compacts, such as the Omni, Escort and Cavalier in the 1980s, just as the Beetle inspired Falcon and Corvair in 1960s and subcompact Vega and Pinto in the 1970s. The Golf's performance also defined the hot hatch before youth started tuning their imports.

Replacing the Beetle was a vital goal for Volkswagen's continued survival. By the early 1970s, the company had fallen into financial woe. The novelty of the Beetle had worn thin. Sales were in terminal decline. The front-engine, rear drive small cars like the Toyota Corolla were refined enough to woo customers away from Volkswagen's noisy underpowered engines and dated styling. The Type 3 and Type 4 fastback and squareback failed to attract much interest, whilst the NSU-developed K70 was a failure.

The solution arrived with Auto Union. They had attracted a small following with their technologically advanced Audi front wheel drive medium sedans. Volkswagen had acquired the Ingolstadt-based company in 1964 from Daimler-Benz. Audi's expertise in water-cooled engines and front-wheel drive would be essential in developing a new generation of Volkswagens. FWD offered more performance with lighter weight and more room in a smaller package. The Audi technology in the Golf would regain for Volkswagen the engineering lead over rear drive cars that Ferdinand Porsche had bestowed on the original Beetle over its large conventional peers. The small Golf had to succeed in replacing the high volume Volkswagen sedan. The upmarket Dasher/Passat would be VW's first front wheel drive car, and it was relatively well received for its lower volume market. The Golf would adopt an efficient "two-box" layout with a steep hatch rather than a formal trunk, which would be later added in the Jetta. The water-cooled engine would be mounted transversely in the front. Work on the Golf began in 1969, shortly after Kurt Lotz became head of Volkswagen.

[edit] Model history

The first Golf (VW internal designation Typ 17) began production in 1974, although it was marketed in the United States and Canada from 1975 to 1984 as the Volkswagen Rabbit and in Latin America as the Volkswagen Caribe. It was a water-cooled, front wheel drive design in a hatchback body style. The Golf was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1975. The name is short for Golf-Strom, German for Gulf Stream; it was named for that oceanic current to reflect its international character.[citation needed]

The Golf was designed by Italian automobile architect / designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, of the ItalDesign design studio.

The GTI version, launched in Europe in 1976 and in the U.S. in 1983, virtually created the hot hatch genre overnight, and many other manufacturers since have created special sports models of their regular volume-selling small hatchbacks. The idea behind was rather straightforward - take a basic-transportation economy car and give it a high-performance package, making it practical and sporty. It was one of the first small cars to adopt mechanical fuel injection for its sports version, which raised power output of the 1588 cc engine to 110 PS (81 kW/108 hp). In 2004, Sports Car International declared the Golf Mk1 GTI to be the 3rd best car of the 1980s.

There was a minor facelift in 1980 which saw the adoption of larger rear lamp clusters (more in line with Giugiaro's original concepts), revised bumpers, a new dashboard with a more modern-looking instrument display, and for US versions square headlights.

[edit] Golf Cabriolet

Mark 1 Golf Cabriolet
Mark 1 Golf Cabriolet

The convertible version, named the Golf Cabriolet (or Typ 155), was sold from 1980 to 1993 (a convertible version of the Mk2 Golf was not made, so the Mk1 Cabrio with slight modification was produced until the introduction of the Mk3 Cabrio). It had a reinforced body, transverse roll bar, and a high level of trim, and interestingly kept the pre-1980 style of rear lamp clusters. The Mk1 Cabriolet is of unibody construction built entirely at the factory of Karmann, from stamping to final assembly; Volkswagen supplied the engine, suspension, interior, etc. for Karmann to install. The vinyl or cloth tops were insulated and manually or automatic operated, with a heated glass rear window.

[edit] South Africa (Citi Golf)

As of 2007, Volkswagen of South Africa still manufactures two variants of the Mk1 Golf, the five-door Citi Golf and the Volkswagen Caddy pickup.

On September 22, 2006 in order to celebrate the continued success of the Mk1 based Citi Golf in South Africa, Volkswagen SA announced the limited edition Citi R which is powered by a 90 kW (120 hp/123 PS) 1.8L fuel injected engine with a five-speed manual transmission as well as a GTI trademark red outlined front grill.

There was a special version, named LX with 1.1L engine, which produced more power than the 1.3L engine. This version had a tuned GTI-like front grill, four front headlights, spoiler, alloy wheels and Recaro seats.

VW South Africa currently (2007) manufacture a large range of Mk1 variants, namely the Citi Golf range. The range starts with a standard Citi Golf, in either 1.4 or 1.6 litre fuel injected models. Many variants of the standard version are/were available with different extras packages, which included the Citi Rythm, Citi.com and so on. The current range topper is the VeloCiti, also available in 1.4i and 1.6i, made as sportier versions of the standard Citi to replace the previous sports version, the Citi Life. The latest Citi Golfs produced feature modern features, such as a new dashboard adapted from a Škoda Fabia, and minor body "facelifts" such as revised tail-light clusters. The Citi Golf is still one of the best-selling and most popular small cars in South Africa.

[edit] North America

Slightly modified US-made Mark 1 Golf/Rabbit. Front bumpers and headlights are original
Slightly modified US-made Mark 1 Golf/Rabbit. Front bumpers and headlights are original

In 1978, Volkswagen began producing the North American "Rabbit" version of the Mk1 Golf in New Stanton, Pennsylvania, thus becoming the first European car manufacturer in modern times to produce a vehicle in the United States. (The plant was called Westmoreland because New Stanton is in Pennsylvania's Westmoreland County.) Former Chevrolet executive James McLernon was chosen to run the factory, which was built to lower the cost of the Rabbit in North America by producing it locally. Unfortunately, McLernon tried to "Americanize" the Golf/Rabbit (Volkswagen executive Werner Schmidt referred to the act as "Malibuing" the car) by softening the suspension and using cheaper materials for the interior. VW purists in America and company executives in Germany were displeased, and for the 1983 model year the Pennsylvania plant went back to using stiffer shocks and suspension with higher-quality interior trim. The plant also began producing the GTI for the North American market. ('Rabbits' were built in Pennsylvania until 1984). The first VW Caddy pick-up, based on the Mk1 Golf, was also created at the Pennsylvania plant.

The Volkswagen Rabbit GTI, the North American version of the high-performance Golf GTI, debuted in Canada and the United States for 1983 model year. Assembled from parts made in Mexico, Canada, Germany and the U.S. in Volkswagen's Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania assembly plant, it had the same Mk1 chassis, and the same A1 body type as the Mk1 Golf GTI that had been on sale in Europe since 1976, with a few exceptions. Key distinct features of the Rabbit GTI were its squared front end styling, and its alloy "snowflake" wheels. The interior came in red or blue felt and leatherette trim. The squared styling of the front end, particularly the wraparound direction indicator lights, gave it added safety and slight improvement in performance. Under the hood, the engine was a JH 1.8 liter 4-cylinder petrol engine that ran on unleaded fuel. The JH 1.8l was transversely mounted, and it would peak in stock condition at 90 hp (67 kW), delivered through a close-ratio five-speed transmission. Claims for gas mileage of near-perfectly tuned Rabbit GTIs range between 25 mpg (US) (9.4 L/100 km/30 mpg imp) and 30 mpg (US) (7.8 L/100 km/36 mpg imp).

When the Rabbit GTI first appeared in Canada, it featured the 1.6l engine and five-speed transmission. It was initially available in red, white, and black. These Canadian cars were German-built and were nearly identical in bodyshell and interior appearance to the 110 hp (82 kW) Golfs built in Europe. Unfortunately for enthusiasts, the entire driveline and running gear was identical to the other Canadian versions. Five-MPH bumpers were fitted as well as anti-intrusion bars within the doors. The integral towing eye fitted to the front of the European car was deleted as the crashworthy bumpers had towing facilities as part of their design and the car had been crash-tested for Canada with the North American front apron. The car was very attractive but drove no better or worse than a Rabbit of the same era. Only with the arrival of the American GTI was a faster Golf available in Canada, and it was down 22 hp (16 kW) compared to the 1.8 litre Golf GTI Mk1.

[edit] United Kingdom

Sales in the United Kingdom were initially slow, as British-built conventional saloons like the Austin Allegro, Vauxhall Viva, Ford Escort and Hillman Avenger were firm favourites with buyers of cars in this sector, but by the end of the decade sales were rising rapidly and, along with the likes of the Datsun Sunny, it was among one of the few foreign cars of this size that were proving popular in Britain. It was still selling well in Britain when production ceased in late 1983, at a time when the popularity of foreign cars was surging further.

[edit] Notes

  • The original U.S.-spec Golf saw use in a taxi fleet. The Yellow Cab Company of Lexington, Kentucky, bought eleven Rabbits in the late seventies as part of an effort to save money on fuel, estimating an annual savings of $135,000 in gasoline costs.[3]


[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
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[edit] References

  1. ^ Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos 1945-1990, vol. 3. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001. ISBN 3-613-02116-1, p.72-85.
  2. ^ Mike Covello: Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-2002. Krause Publications, Iola 2002, ISBN 0-87341-605-8, p.825-829.
  3. ^ Flammang, James, Volkswagen: Beetles, Buses and Beyond, Karus Publications, 1996

[edit] External links


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