Golf GTi (Germany, 1976)

Not wanting to relax just yet with VW Golf’s instant worldwide success, the GTI version of the Golf was released in 1976 (Europe) as Volkswagen’s first sports model. It would then arrive at the North American market by 1983. This Golf version was also greatly admired for being the first hatchback-type sports car, responsible for the start of the “hot hatch” genre of vehicles. It has been considered the third best car of the 80’s.
Iconic as it became, a cult has grown up around the GTI and many other brands’ manufacturers tried to compete with it with similar models. Indeed, the GTI version of the Golf caused an effect on the automobile industry: a great part of all car producers started creating sports versions of their most sold small hatchbacks, ever since.
Plus, it was a reasonably accessible car in terms of price, so it wasn’t too hard to get one. The goal was actually to give this economic and accessible car a higher perfo...