Volkswagen has been known as one of the most popular brands namely because of the VW Beetle. The Beetle was so popular that the production lasted six decades and it even starred in numerous films.
Behind the shadow of the popular “VW Bug” is the VW Golf. It was built as the front-engine version of the Beetle and now one of the most popular models ever. To recognise the importance of this lovely little hatchback, we compiled a list of facts that most of us don’t really know about—until now.
#1: The Golf is the 2nd best-selling car model of all time
With over 30,000,000 units produced from 1974 to 2013, the VW Golf is the second most sold car model in automotive history. It comes second to the Toyota Corolla which has over 40,000,000 made. It is unlikely that VW will catch up to Toyota, but selling 30,000,000 is already a huge accomplishment. It has even sold more than the popular VW Beetle by over 9,000,000 units.
#2: Nobody is sure where the name “Golf” came from
There are two likely candidates for how the name of the Golf came about. First is the theme of naming cars after winds or currents. The Passat (trade wind), Jetta (Jet Stream), Bora and Scirocco (Sirocco) are all names of winds. Golf is close to Gulf Stream which is another popular wind current. Another possible relationship for the name is the sport of Golf which would fit the sports theme that includes the VW Polo and VW Derby. There is no official word on how the name came about.
#3: The Golf GTI was an after-hours side project
The Golf GTI, which is the “hot hatch” version of the Golf, was conceived after hours by a group of engineers who wanted to make a performance version of the car. They worked during evenings and weekends to develop the “Sport Golf”. The concept was shown to management but the reception was lukewarm at the time. The car made it to production for a limited run of 5000 units but the popularity of the hot hatch took off and to date over 1.9 million Golf GTI units have been sold.
#4: The Golf Platform is shared by a number of other cars
The practice of sharing a platform started a long time ago and the VW Golf is no exception. The Golf uses the VW Group A platform and under the VW brand is has been used by the Beetle (new versions), Jetta, Bora, Scirocco, and Eos. The Group A platform is also used some other notable cars like the Audi TT, Audi A3, Skoda Yeti and SEAT Toledo. All these car brands are under the VW group.
#5: Ever heard of a W12 engine?
The popular Bugatti Veyron and now the Chiron have the W16 engine which has broken all speed records for production cars. A one-off concept version of the Golf GTI was powered by the baby brother of the Bugatti engine, a W12. Essentially, the W12 engine is two V6 engines bolted together to run as a single power unit. This particular engine was taken from the Bentley Continental GT that was a 6.0-liter twin-turbo capable of producing a massive 641bhp and 531 lb-ft of torque. That’s some power for a tiny hatchback. It could go from naught to 62mph in 3.7 seconds and had a top speed of 202mph. Sadly, it never came into production.
There you have it, five things you didn’t know about the VW Golf. The next time you see one pass you by, you will surely break out a smile knowing these bits of trivia. Stay tuned for more interesting car trivia here.
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