In May 1974 German
carmaker Volkswagen introduced the Golf internally known as Typ 17.
The Golf, named after the wind (Golf is German for Gulf Stream), was
the successor to Volkswagen's historic Beetle although the Beetle
remained in production until 2003 (in Germany 1978).
The development
started in 1966. Two prototypes were presented in 1969, one by
Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche (VW EA 266) ( EA stands for "Entwicklungsauftrag" or "development assignment") and one by
Volkswagen subsidiary Audi NSU Auto Union AG (VW EA 276). The rear
wheel drive Porsche design had a water-cooled engine mounted
underneath the rear seats. Initially the front wheel drive Auto Union
design had the four-cylinder boxer, air-cooled Beetle engine mounted
in the front at a later stadium as EA 337 it was replaced by a
four-cylinder water-cooled engine (type 827 engine) partly developed
by Auto Union GmbH (Audi, DKW, Horch, Wanderer) and Daimler-Benz AG
(now Daimler AG). Other prototypes were VW EA 235 (Volkswagen, 1967)
and EA 235A (Volkswagen, 1967). Ultimately the design (EA 337) was
given to ItalDesign and Giorgetto Giugiaro penned two cars, a coupe
and a hatchback. The coupe was presented as the Scirocco and the
hatchback as the Golf (Rabbit in the US and Caribe in Mexico).
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| Predecessor: Volkswagen Typ 1 (Beetle) |
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| Volkswagen prototype EA 235 (1967) |
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| Volkswagen prototype EA 235A (1967) |
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| Volkswagen prototype EA 266 by Porsche (1969) |
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| Volkswagen prototype EA 276 by Audi NSU Auto Union (1969) |
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| Volkswagen prototype EA 276 by Audi NSU Auto Union (1969) |
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| Volkswagen prototype EA 337 by Giorgetto Giugiaro (ItalDesign) (circa 1970) |
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| Volkswagen Golf pré production prototype with sliding front door (1973) |
At first the Golf
was marketed as a 3-door (Typ 171) and a 5-door (Typ 173) hatchback
with two petrol engine choices, a 1.1L (37 kW) and a 1.5L (51 kW). In
1976 a 1.5L diesel engine with 37 kW was available. In 1975 the
two-door sport model GTI appeared with a 1.6L engine (81 kW), setting
the standard for other manufacturers. In 1979 a two-door cabriolet
(Typ 15) appeared produced in Karmann's facility in Osnabruck. In
1980 a pickup known as Caddy (Typ 147) was introduced in the US. In
Europe the Caddy was introduced in 1982.
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| Volkswagen Golf 3-doors (1974) |
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| Volkswagen Golf 3-doors (1974) |
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| Volkswagen Golf interior (1974) |
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| Volkswagen Golf GTI (1975) |
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| Volkswagen Golf 5-door Diesel (1976) |
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| Volkswagen Golf 5-door (1978) |
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| Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet (1980) |
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| Volkswagen Caddy (1982) |
In December 1975
the car had a minor facelift, the "swallowtail" rear panel was
replaced by a rectangular one. A second facelift followed in August
1978 when plastic wrap-around bumpers replaced the metal versions. In
1980 all models had a final facelift with larger rear lamp clusters
and a new dashboard. A total of 6.8 million Mk I Volkswagen Golf's
were produced in Melbourne (Australia), Brussels (Belgium), Wolfsburg
(Germany), New Stanton (USA), Uitenhage (South Africa), Shah Alam
(Malaysia), Puebla (Mexico), Sarajevo/Vogošća (Yugoslavia).
Production ended in 1983 (Germany) with the introduction of
Volkswagen Golf Mk2 (Typ 19). (in South Africa The Golf Mk I was
produced as Citi Golf from 1984 until 2009)
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| Left to right: "Swallowtail" (1974), 1975 facelift, 1978 facelift, 1980 facelift |
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| Successor Volkswagen Golf Mk 2 (Typ 19, 1983) |
Volkswagen Golf Commercial (Germany, 1974)
Volkswagen Golf Test: Rainer Günzler (ZDF, 1974)
Brochures:
Volkswagen Golf, Germany 1974
Volkswagen Rabbit, USA 1975
Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, Germany 1979
Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel, USA 1979
Volkswagen Golf, France 1981
Facelifts of the rear panel are interessant. I made large picture of the original "Swallowtail" (1974) next to the left to right 1975 facelift, 1978 facelift, 1980 facelift https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1974_cars_vw_golf_evolution2.jpg
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