Volkswagen made its first Golf GTI in 1976, but it took three years for a Canadian version to appear. And that version was a GTI in name only.
“In 1976, approximately 18 months after the launch of the Volkswagen Golf, a small team of engineers carried out some secretive research in the bowels of the Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany,” says Thomas Tetzlaff, manager of public relations for Volkswagen Canada. “The result was a ‘soup’d up’ version of the Golf, quickly dubbed the GTI.”
GTI is short for Gran Turismo Injected. The hot hatch went into production in the “hopes of selling 5,000 copies,” Tetzlaff says.
Europe’s GTI had a 1.6-litre fuel injected engine with 110 hp, a sportier suspension than the normal Golf, a close-ratio five-speed manual transmission and “beefier” brakes, Tetzlaff said. It also had sportier looks than the Golf, with performance trim and plaid seats. It wasn’t sold in North America.
Since then, Volkswagen has sold more than two million GTIs worldwide. The history of the GTI in Canada:
1979: Instead of the Europe’s Golf GTI, Canada got the Rabbit GTI. The regular Rabbit’s 76-horsepower engine wasn’t modified – but it did have sportier springs. It was sold in 1979 and 1980.
1983: Volkswagen’s second stab at the Rabbit GTI is still a first-generation Rabbit. But, with a 1.8-litre, 90-hp fuel-injected engine, the car is the first actual GTI sold in North America. It was sold in 1983 and 1984.
1985: Rabbit no more, the second-generation Golf got the GTI treatment with a 100-hp, 1.8-litre engine. Eventually, the horsepower was hiked to 105. It was Motor Trend’s car of the year. In 1987, it got an optional four-valve-per-cylinder (16V) 124-hp engine. That eventually rose to 134 horsepower with a 2.0-litre upgrade.
1994: The third-generation Golf GTI debuts with a 115-hp, 2.0-litre 8V engine. In 1995, Volkswagen added an optional 172-hp, narrow angle 2.8-litre VR6.
1998: During Golf GTI’s fourth generation, Volkswagen boosted the 2.8-litre VR6’s horsepower to 200 and introduced what would become the GTI’s standard engine: a 1.8-litre, 150-hp turbocharged engine.
2007: The fifth-generation GTI brought back the red striping and plaid upholstery. Powered by a 2.0-litre turbo engine with 200 hp, this GTI got both two-door and four-door versions.
2010: For the sixth generation, “a more chiselled, angular look lent the GTI a more aggressive appearance,” Tezlaff says. “And mechanical upgrades made the car even more roadworthy.”
2015: Based on Volkswagen’s lighter MQB platform, the seventh-generation Golf GTI has a standard 210-hp, 2.0-litre TSI engine.
For 2016, its base price is $28,595.
Source: Volkswagen Canada
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