Not just any old iron
Whether any of the generations of Golf GTI counts as the greatest hot hatch ever is not a question I’m about to answer. More than one of them have certainly been contenders, and the closely related Golf Mk7 R of recent years was one of the very best of its era. While some other pretenders to the crown have been French (Peugeot 205 GTI, Renault 5 GT Turbo, Clio Williams, Renaultsport Megane R26R…), their fire has shone brightly yet briefly. But one thing is for definite: no hot hatch has survived in such strength for so many generations as the Golf GTI. Eight, in fact. And they’re all gathered here.
One of the first cars I ever drove was a Mk1 GTI. It was three decades ago, I was 17, and even though I had little to compare it with, I could tell it was special. Some refer to it as the first hot hatch of all; others (fewer in number) suggest that might have been the 1973 Simca 1100ti: 1297cc, twin Webers, 82bhp, uprated dampers and brakes. And in 1976, Renault treated the R5 to a 92bhp 1.4-litre engine, racing stripes and alloy wheels that looked like Scotch reel-to-reel spools.
The R5 Gordini beat the Golf GTI to market by mere months, but arguably the VW – let’s call it the first fully fledged hot hatch – set the template that all others would follow: even Peugeot’s 205 GTI of 1984 was a virtual facsimile in spec. And there were seven more Golf GTIs.
It began as a backroom project shortly after the Golf’s launch in 1974, with no
