This year marks five decades of the icon Volkswagen Golf GTIand the German brand is planning big things for the nameplate’s anniversary.
Starting with the Golf GTI Mk1 in 1976, the “most successful compact sports car in the world” has sold more than 2.5 million units in no less than eight generations.
50 years later, VW says the GTI’s core DNA remains the same: “(an) agile engine, lightweight front-wheel drive, balanced chassis, perfectly fitting sports seats and clear, no-frills design.”
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VW has confirmed two major product launches to mark this milestone anniversary. The first is the VW Golf GTI Edition 50 – the most powerful production GTI ever built.
Based on the latest Golf Mk8.5, the Edition 50 features a 239kW/420Nm 2.0-litre “EA888” turbo petrol engine driving the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch “DSG” automatic transmission.
Zero to 100km/h takes a claimed 5.5 seconds – or 0.4 seconds quicker than the standard 195kW GTI currently sold in Australia – while the Edition 50 sits 15mm lower than the standard GTI thanks to a sharpened chassis, with revised spring rates, steering and dynamic chassis control systems.
The Edition 50 is also the fastest production Volkswagen to ever complete a lap of the famed Nürburgring – in June last year, the company’s racer Benny Leuchter drove a pre-production Edition 50 around the Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 46.13 seconds, beating the 2022 Golf R 20 Years by more than a second, despite the R’s extra 6kW and all-paw traction.
Orders for the GTI Edition 50 are open in “some European markets” ahead of first deliveries later in the year, although the anniversary model is only “under review” for the Australian market.
“The Golf GTI Edition 50 is currently being investigated by Volkswagen Australia for a local launch, with technical milestones and a business case for the vehicle pending,” a VW Group Australia spokesperson said Daily Sparkz last year.
Should it make it Down Under, the Edition 50 will be the latest in a long line of motorized special edition Golfs that includes the Mk6 GTI Edition 35, the Mk7 GTI 40 Years and the Mk7.5 GTI TCR.
You can read our previous review of the special edition Golf GTI models Here.
The 50th anniversary of the GTI badge also marks the first foray into electrified territory with the all-electric ID. Polo GTI is scheduled to come onto the market this year.
Based on the MEB+ platform – intended for smaller, more efficient and cheaper vehicles and with a single-engine front-wheel drive configuration – the ID. The Polo GTI will sit on the new ID. Polo range, powered by a 166 kW electric motor powered by a 52 kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion battery.
The Polo type, like the GTI, has just turned 50 years old and debuted in 1975. Given the changing market and regulatory conditions in Europe and around the world, VW intends to sell the new ID generation. Polo for some time alongside an updated version of the existing sixth-generation Polo with an internal combustion engine.
“There will be an update for the combustion engine Polo. We can build cars with combustion engines for as long as it is necessary, there is no limit. The existing (MQB-A0) platform is more than capable of this,” said Volkswagen Board Member for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, Martin Sander Auto Express last month.
Neither the ID. Polo GTI still standard ID. The Polo has already been confirmed for the Australian market, so we’ll have to wait for the global reveal in the hope that the local Volkswagen division has more to say about its local prospects.
The German auto giant has had difficulty bringing its electrified products to market on time in the past, citing various factors such as (lack of) emissions regulations, supply bottlenecks, exchange rates and the like.
The first ID series from Volkswagen. The introduction of new products was delayed for a few years before, after mid-life updates, the SUVs ID.4 and ID.5 as well as the ID. came onto the market. Electric people carrier and transporter from Buzz.
The Golf-sized ID.3 hatchback never made it Down Under either, even though it was the first ID.3. Model for production and after it was intended for our market several times. However, the Spanish subsidiary Cupra managed to bring the corresponding Born EV Down Under, but it has since been put on hold.
Stay tuned to Daily Sparkz for the latest developments!
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