From the moment we stepped off the boat and walked down the pier, it was a gushfest of epic proportions and made our more recent reaction to the CX-3 seem positively blasé.
“Omigod, look, Race-Taxi!”
“Sweet, a Mk2 Jetta!”
“Oh, crap, check out this Scirocco!!!”
“Damn, check out the BBS wheels on that GTI!”
For a while we were just running around like headless chickens that didn’t know where to start with our clucking and pecking.
But let’s rewind a bit. We were on the southern shore of Worthersee, a lake in the Austrian Alps dotted with quaint little resort towns, this particular town called Reifnitz. Most weeks of the year it must be a sleepy little place, but every year in the middle of May, it is bursting at the seams with hordes of German and Austrian GTI and Golf and Corrado and Scirocco owners descending to share their love of all things Volkswagen (and Audi and Seat and even a smattering of Porsches and Mercedes…). And to drink. Seriously, we got there around 10 am and there were already some folk wobbling around, beer or schnapps in hand.
What is your favourite Volkswagen of all time? |
What started out 34 years ago as a small gathering of friends with their GTI getting together to drink in honour of Father’s Day (Father’s Day in Germany is May 14) grew and grew and grew to the point that thousands flock to this little town, with thousands of cars cruising through, camping out in designated lots or staying in the vicinity.
It’s really hard to comprehend the sheer volume of VW-ness that descends on the town, and we actually only experienced one day out of over a week of different cars and people coming through.
While I can’t recount the entire history of the VW brand, I can briefly touch on some of the key makes and models that were on display. Of course, any VW lineage starts with the Beetle, brainchild of Adolf Hitler to get Germans into cheap, simple transportation for the masses (well, at least those of the German masses that he wasn’t trying to kill). The task was contracted to Ferdinand Porsche, and he landed on the rear-engined, rear-drive goofy looking hunchback we’ve all come to know and love. Porsche then went on to use these bones to branch off a line of sports cars. You may have heard of them. They’re called Porsches. 😉
Volkswagen went on to build over 21 million of these little punch buggies around the world, and while the original finally ended its production run in 2003, the new Beetle lives on into a second generation as a front-engine, front-drive car utilizing VW’s extensive parts sourcing.
Here at the GTI Treffen, there were several noteworthy Beetles, but none moreso than a matte black example with some sinister red and silver alloy wheels, with a minty green Schnappsmobile another favourite. Somehow, I missed possibly the best Beetle of all, but Jamie Vondruska of VW Vortex captured it in his epic gallery – check it out here. Now someone needs to explain to me what the thing is with the skis…
Another of my favourite cars of the entire show was a well-preserved Westfalia camper edition of Volkswagen’s Type 2 Bus. Introduced in 1950 as an alternate body style on the same underpinnings as the Beetle (known originally as a Type 1), it also enjoyed a very long production run right through until 2013 in Brazil. While the Microbus is often associated with the hippie counterculture here in North America, in Germany and Europe it was a do-everything kind of vehicle, coming in various passenger, cargo, and camper configurations. This T2 (second gen) camper was painted a beautifully nostalgic orange and cream, with a neat-o plaid interior, and wheels and details that were all perfect, right down to the roof rack and ‘visor’.
While the Martini-liveried T2 pickup was eye-catching, as was a lowered red-on-black T1 (first generation), my other favourite Bus is a Bus in name only. Well, actually, I guess you’d say in ‘shape’ only as its name is Race-Taxi. Yes, that Race-Taxi. A VW Bus with a transplanted bi-turbo Porsche engine transplanted in the back. While the body is a T1, the chassis underneath is actually from a more modern Vanagon and a 993 flat-six twin-turbo and race grade wheels, chassis upgrades and a carbon-fibre roof. It not only looks cool, it can hang with big dogs at the track and drag strip when owner and builder Fred Bernhard takes it out, sometimes bringing along friends and family to enjoy the ride.
For many years Volkswagen subsisted primarily on these two vehicles, Beetle and Bus, with derivatives like the Karmann Ghia and Thing sprinkled in, but time stands still for no company, and in 1974 VW applied a more modern water-cooled, front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout in the popular compact segment. The Golf was born. Its engineering was fairly typical for the era, but the execution proved a revelation, the design from Giorgetto Giugiaro in his prime and the suspension and handling earning accolades for a small, economical and practical hatchback.
While Volkswagen of North America went with the Rabbit name for our market through the first generation (and revisited in 2006-2009), it was always the Golf in Europe, though here at Worthersee the Rabbit badges were in ample supply, and one of the best cars we saw was a simple, silver first-generation ‘Rabbit’, lovingly original, except for a slightly lowered stance and some highly polished BBS mesh-pattern wheels. To me, it was the perfect degree of respect for the original with a personal flair that is subtle enough not to be garish. Car #1 for the Yarkony Volkswagen Dream Garage (which has five spots). These early Golfs were available with either 50-hp 1.1L or 75-hp 1.5L in-line four-cylinder engines.
Within a couple minutes, some of the gearheads at VW saw the potential and had the genius idea that it needed more power and even better handling. They started with the Golf-based Scirocco, stole a 1.6L engine from the Audi and turned the power dial up to 100. It was a yet untapped market, and the VW brass sent it to its debut at the 1975 Frankfurt Motor Show, and then on to production. God bless them.
Differences from the Golf were subtle on the surface: a front lip spoiler, black accents on the doors and wheel arches, a red pinstripe around the grille and the now legendary GTI badge, which stood for Gran Turismo Inizione (Grand Tourer Injection). With the 1.6L engine and fuel injection, production models hit the roads with 108 hp and 103 lb-ft of torque. That’s pretty paltry compared to today’s hot hatches, but it was over double the base model’s output, and the thing weighs about as much as a paper cup, 810 kg to be exact (okay, that’s a pretty heavy paper cup).
If you’re sick of hearing all about how great and raw and pure a driving experience the original Mk1 GTI is, well, don’t click on this link, but it’s as good as they say. This show was crawling with them, with everything from bone stock originals in varying conditions to heavily modified blue-ribbon cars and everything in between. My personal favourite Mk1s were the matching red and white ’80 and ’83 (or at least so the license plates would suggest) without any embellishment except for retro alloys that offer a modern take on the original wheel pattern. I’ll take the white one for my VW Dream Garage, thanks.
Before we move on to the next generation a moment to appreciate a couple of Golf derivatives: the Scirocco (1974–1992) and then Corrado (1988–1995) and then Scirocco again (2005–), sleeker coupe models based on the Golf, which were well represented in every lot and on every street. An early first-generation Scirocco in not quite mint condition was just parked at the back of one grass parking lot, the little imperfections of this simple silver coupe revealing a life well lived, and its unmolested form showing just how right Giugiario got this one.
The second generation Golf came along in 1984 with the GTI hot on its heels, but it was in 1986 that VW doubled the valve count to 16, bumping power to 137 hp to match the Mk2’s larger body, and earning the affection of shoppers then and aficionados to this day. From here VW started to really diversify the GTI and Golf range with special editions like the supercharged G60/Golf Limited, Rallye Golf (of which there was one on hand, which I missed, but was also caught in the VWVortex super-gallery), Golf Country (essentially a Golf crossover before there was such a thing as crossovers) and more – I’ll leave it to Wikipedia and other resources to list every variant), but my favourite of this generation was one particular GTI 16V in dark blue with Hella-branded foglight covers. Again, mostly in its original form with only some BBS mesh alloys. Add that to Dream Garage – that’s #3 for anyone keeping count.
The third generation brought V6 power in VR6 models in addition to 2.0L version of the 16-valve four-cylinder, but quality and character left the GTI a shadow of its former self. The most eye-catching of the Mk3s at Worthersee was a patchwork rat-rod with all sorts of goofy little jokes grafted onto the body, including an axe embedded in the hood and affront quarter panel covered in jeans. During these years, the early 1990s, the Corrado carried the compact performance torch for as long as it continued, and Corrados were very well represented at the show. The coolest Mk3 wasn’t a GTI, but a Golf Wagon in a matte brown wrap with cracked leather wrap on the hood and upper body, hooked up to a trailer made from the back end of a Mk2 with a swing out grill for firing up some serious brats (the sausages, not little kids).
The fourth generation carried over the VR6 but added turbo power in the 1.8T, and the king of Mk4s is the special edition super-hatch R32, which featured all-wheel drive married to a high-output 237-hp version of the VR6 power plant (If I’d spotted one, it would be in my VW Dream Garage). While Mk4s were also popular here, there were very few that I spotted or that caught my attention compared to the earlier generations. A tip of the hat to the Mk4 Golf Wagon that has a the very same GTI wheels as I have on my Jetta Wagon (which I kept from my ’01 GTI VR6), but my favourite Mk4 was the lowered, camo-wrapped with matching camo roof box. Sure it’s cheesy, but on the plus side, it’s hilarious. Who doesn’t love camouflage on their lowered Euro-wagon?
Taking a break from the GTIs, it behooves me to compliment the hordes of new Polos and Sciroccos (often used as demos for tuner and aftermarket companies) and even a couple first-generation Polos and a stunning Polo Derby (stock, with killer BBS wheels, but this one in a beige so Corolla that here it stood out in a sea of silver, red, white and black). I couldn’t list every awesome car that I saw, but scroll through that gallery and look for a fan vision of what the Europe-only Up! microcar might look like with an R treatment, random police livery Passat Wagon and Caddy, a smoking hot Mk1 Cabriolet, a Martini-liveried Type 2 pickup and a smoke show by VW’s World Rallly Championship entry, a Polo piloted by WRC champ Sébastien Ogier.
The Mk5 Golf, launched in 2003, only arrived on our shores in 2006 as a Rabbit, but the GTI regained the magic that made it a legend that has carried right through to the current generation, and you can read all about them in our archives. Others have delivered more power and greater handling, but GTI remains popular because of a balance of excellent handling, great feel, decent power and an easygoing personality.
As many of you know, we here at Autos.ca are GTI fans, no fewer than five of us are current or former Golf or GTI owners (I swear it’s not a prerequisite to work here, though), myself included. The GTI Treffen was an unprecedented chance to revel in all things VW, and gawk at the many GTIs, Volkswagens and other cars, new and old. Oh, and remember that five-car Yarkony VW Dream Garage? The last two would be the orange and cream Type 2 Westfalia camper, and the last spot for that matte black Beetle. Or maybe Race-Taxi… But I have to have a Corrado VR6 somewhere. And the Oetttinger 500R is pretty insane. I wonder if I’m allowed to claim the W12 650 that VW displayed here in 2007. I’m gonna need a bigger garage.