30 million vehicles, 7 generations and 4 decades. This is the well-known folk Golf. A car that in many ways marked several generations. It was definitely driven by someone you knew. There is also a high probability that you had golf in your family. Let's look at the history of this exceptional car model through an interesting graphic story.
The first production Golf rolled off the assembly line in Wolfsburg March 29, 1974. Where for many decades the scene was dominated by the Beetle with the engine in the back, z Golfm a new era began - the era of transversely mounted front engine and front drive. As the successor of Hroščev's incredible more than 21.5 million copies, it is said Golf I, which they conceptualized Giorgio Giugaro and the team Volkswagen Design, continued the success story of the most successful car in the world until then.
And it worked: already October 1976 followed by the celebration of the millionth Golf. They followed first Golf GTI in 1976, the Golf Cabriolet of the year 1979 and Golf GTD in 1982.
August 1983 sales of the second generation Golf began. That was it Golf, at which they appeared in his class regulated catalyst (1984), anti-lock braking system (ABS, 1986 and power steering, and the first Golf to be available with four-wheel drive (syncro, in 1986).
With the third generation Golf Volkswagen ushered in a new era of safety in August 1991. Golf III was the first in the series to have integrated frontal airbags from 1992 onwards. Great progress in body construction has also brought significant improvements in the vehicle's crash characteristics. Later technical milestones of the series were the first six-cylinder engine (VR6), cruise control, the first diesel engine with direct injection (TDI, in 1993), the new Cabriolet, the new four-wheel drive (syncro II) and the first Golf Variant.
With the Golf IV in 1997, the field of security also advanced further: the best example is the introduction of the system ESC. It was in 1998 Volkswagen then presented the first Golf with four-wheel drive with a haldex clutch - Golf 4Motion. In 2002, Volkswagen introduced Golf R32, which was reaching speed 250 km/h – with this top-of-the-line model, the revolutionary dual-clutch transmission (DSG) was introduced to the series for the first time.
Golf V series but it was the Golf, which with its comfort, dynamics and quality is the year 2003 surpassed many competitors upper middle class. This also applied to security. It was the first time Golf if desired, it can be ordered with side airbags for the back seat as well - together with the six standard airbags (frontal, front side and head airbags), there were eight airbags in the vehicle. It is in terms of comfort and dynamics Golf V convinced with its new four-link rear axle, 7-speed DSG gearbox, bi-xenon headlights, panoramic sunroof and the world's first version of the Twincharger (TSI) engine, which in 2006 brought a supercharged turbocharger. In addition, Golf Plus was introduced in 2006, and a year later another CrossGolf, new Variant and very economical Golf BlueMotion (4.5 l/100 km).
Z Golf VI series they are since 2008 more and more TSI engines penetrated, and a change also followed in turbodiesel engines (TDI): the technique of injection via nozzles with compressors was replaced by injection via a common line, which brought more dynamics with lower consumption. In this case, the champion was second Golf BlueMotion with an average fuel consumption of only 3.8 l/100 km or with CO2 emissions of only 99 g/km. With new assistance systems (among other things, Light Assist high beam assistance, Park Assist parking system with automatic control, etc.) it was Golf VI at that time the most advanced Golf.
Volkswagen is September 4, 2012 celebrated the world premiere seventh generation Golf. The weight of the vehicle was reduced by up to 100 kilograms. Depending on the engine version, consumption has been reduced by up to 23 percent compared to the previous generation. The new Golf TDI BlueMotion1 consumes only 3.2 l/100 km in NEVC under standardized conditions (or CO2 emissions vg/km: 85). In addition, Volkswagen has equipped the Golf with a whole host of new assistance systems, some of which are part of the standard equipment. This year, Volkswagen is equipping the compact vehicle class with an electric motor: it is already available to customers e-Golf2, which is driven exclusively by an electric motor and has a range of around 190 kilometers. It will be available from autumn Golf GTE3; its plug-in hybrid drive achieved a standardized consumption of only 1.5 l/100 km, and only with an electric drive you can drive around with it 50 kilometers.
Interesting documentary film - 40 years of the Volkswagen Golf
The Golf is the most commonly produced Volkswagen model of all time. In the summer of 2013, the seventh generation already passed the milestone 30 million vehicles produced. The series is currently manufactured in Wolfsburg and Zwickau (Germany), Foshan (China) and Puebla (Mexico).
Source: Volkswagen
