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VW Golf GTI Edition 50 celebrates five decades of icon status
The year 1976 remains an important year on the automotive calendar. It’s the year that witnessed the introduction of the first Mk1 Golf GTI – an unassuming experiment in the form of a fast hatch that packed 82kW and 153Nm from a 1.8-litre naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine.
It was high-tech for its time, and the power came from clever tuning and lightweight design. Fast-forward nearly five decades and eight generations later, and the Golf GTI continues to hold cult status, both locally and globally, even as the hot hatch segment slowly loses traction, particularly here in South Africa.
To mark the half-century of the Golf GTI nameplate, Volkswagen has unveiled the Golf GTI Edition 50 at the Nürburgring 24-Hour race. With 239kW and 420Nm produced by a 2.0-litre TSI and sent to the front wheels via a 7-speed DSG transmission, this makes it the most powerful Golf GTI ever to hit the roads. That's 4kW and 20Nm more than the current R, which has 235kW and 400Nm.
But it’s not just about the numbers. The Golf GTI Edition 50’s chassis has been refined for better handling, and it sits 15mm lower than the regular Golf GTI model. VW offers an optional GTI Performance Package, which enhances chassis dynamics by increasing the natural frequency at the front and rear axles by roughly 20%, resulting in sharper handling and better road response.
The package also adds size 235 Potenza Race semi-slick tyres from Bridgestone on 19-inch Warmenau forged wheels. It should also sound equally impressive, thanks to the lightweight R-Performance Akrapovič exhaust system with a rear silencer in titanium.
Regarding anniversary highlights, the Golf GTI Edition 50 adds red seatbelts, sports seats with a check pattern in racing green shade, and a redesigned steering wheel, which features the GTI 50 insignia.
The anniversary treatment extends to the outside, thanks to a GTI 50 logo on the roof spoiler and the insides of the exterior mirrors, special trim on the door sills, a roof with black paintwork, black exterior mirror housings and black tailpipe tips. Other features which we find stunning are the striking side stripe on the side members with a colour gradient from black to tornado red.
The Golf GTI Edition 50 is available in a palette of five exterior shades: Pure White, Moonstone Grey, and Grenadilla Black Metallic, with Dark Moss Green Metallic and the iconic Tornado Red reserved exclusively for this anniversary model. The latter were previously worn by icons like the Golf II GTI 16V, Golf III VR6, and the Golf VII GTI TCR.
If there’s one thing we appreciate most, it’s that VW didn’t just throw a few stickers on and call it a day. The Edition 50 is a suitable tribute, with real performance upgrades that live up to the badge. Sadly, don’t get too excited just yet, since the facelifted Golf 8 GTI, on which this special model is based, won’t be coming to our market anytime soon due to our fuel quality still not meeting the standards required for the petrol particulate filters used in the latest EA888 engine. Until those changes are implemented, we may have to admire this icon from a distance.
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