The new era / Generation Golf
We are the people!
Success! A worthy successor to the Beetle was finally found in 1974 in the shape of the Golf. Many years leading up to this point were spent designing, drawing, building and testing, before an almost revolutionary transformation process began to take place: water instead of air cooling, in-line instead of boxer engine, front- instead of rear-wheel drive, functional design instead of fanciful curves. Other new Volkswagen models had already paved the way for the Golf: the K70, the Passat and the Scirocco. A new era was dawning. In the Volkswagen AutoMuseum we present some of the milestones from this period.
We are pleased to present a small selection of our water-cooled exhibits on this page:
The 1973 Passat clocked in the modern era at Volkswagen. It was based on the Audi 80 whose front and rear sections were redesigned by Giorgio Giugiaro. The entire car bearing chassis number 2 is the oldest production Passat in the world today. The first Passat cars were either two-door or four-door models with a small boot lid, but in 1975 an alternative was launched with a rear hatch reaching up to the roof. The estate version was already added in January 1974. By the end of 1976, production of the Passat reached its first million.
With the Scirocco designed by Giugiaro – the first front-wheel-drive coupé to bear a VW badge – Volkswagen democratised the world of the sports car in 1973: it was the first affordable, economical and – thanks to the front-wheel drive – stable coupé. With its four fully fledged seats, large boot and practical tailgate, the Scirocco was considered an all-round sports car. It was precisely this mix of talents that convinced hundreds of thousands of car drivers. The coupé was built by Karmann.
With the Golf, a completely new, compact vehicle was launched which established a new automobile class: the Golf class. Besides the impressive technology, its success was partly due to Giorgio Giugiaro’s design, which influenced the style of cars with its clear angular form. This exhibit was originally supplied with ‘brilliant yellow’ (RAL xxxx) paintwork. The vinyl seats are fir green. The chrome extras underscore the superior features available on the LS model.
In 1975, Volkswagen unveiled a reasonably priced and economical car in the shape of the Polo – ‘A small fellow soon to make it big’, as the sales brochure prophesised at the time, and justifiably so. The large tailgate and the variable boot space made it a popular and versatile vehicle for holidays, shopping trips and everyday use – and yet another successful model produced by Volkswagen. Some consider the Audi 50/Polo designed by Bertone to be the real successor to the Beetle.
The second generation of the Golf entered mass production in June 1983: its design was not too different from that of its predecessor, although it was more aerodynamic, with wider C-pillars and a longer wheelbase. In all, this not only created more space in the interior and boot, but also improved driving comfort. This Golf with Mars red paintwork and grey and black tweed interior is a GL, recognisable from the outside by the chrome trim elements around the bumpers and windows.
