Skip to main content

Wörthersee 2016: Mk1 Superthread

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

Sadly, the treffen has ended. The good news is, though, that it’s now time to take a look back at some of the best that the lake had to offer, which, today, means Mk1s.

Way back in 1974, this little hatch helped pull Volkswagen out of financial difficulties after sales of the Beetle started dropping. With the help of Audi’s front-wheel-drive and water cooling technologies, and a classic design penned by Giugiaro, the Mk1 Golf not only kept Volkswagen relevant, but helped them lead the way in the coming years.

This year, of course, was the 40th anniversary of the GTI, which started with the Mk1 and helped revolutionize the motoring world. Volkswagen celebrated the car’s birthday at Wörthersee with a cake and a record lap time around the Nurburgring’s Nordschleife.

Many Mk1s made the trek to Wörthersee for the occasion and here are just a few of our favorites.

SiGray.Worthersee2016-9265

KAMEI produce all kinds of accessories for cars these days, but back in the ‘70s they were all about performance. That’s why they sponsored a wide variety of race cars, driven by  top drivers like Keke Rosberg and Ari Vatanen. This reproduction of the famous Mk1 KAMEI race car gets all the important details right, including the great and wonderfully dated KAMEI livery.

SiGray.Worthersee2016-8280

The Mk1 Golf differs from the Beetle pretty substantially, but it was originally designed to replace the much-loved bug. This Golf gets at some of the groovy ‘60s surfer culture that made the Beetle such a cultural force. From the big retro wheels, to the lei hanging from the mirror, to the surf board on top, this Golf is a nice homage to the car the preceded it and a good looking car in its own right.

SiGray.Worthersee2016-8296

Dubs have, to a degree, fallen out of favor. But this car reminds us of why they were popular and proves that, done well, they can still look great. Everything about this Golf comes together to make something that just looks right.

SiGray.Worthersee2016-8793

This car is so clean that the picture squeaks. One of the GTIs featured on Volkswagen’s official stage, this Mk1 is a great example of current trends for the model and a fine reminder of why many still think that it’s the best looking GTI.

SiGray.Worthersee2016-8093

Finally this cream-colored Mk1 strips nearly everything away and reminds us of the simple beauty of Giugiaro’s design. The modifications to this car highlight what was already a very, very, very handsome car. No wonder it’s lasted 42 years.

Disagree with our picks? Take a look through our gallery above and let us know which ones you like best in comments.

The post Wörthersee 2016: Mk1 Superthread appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1TzIs60
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster Review

“Supercars just don’t excite me anymore.” These words, spoken to me over a month ago by another journalist, friend, and (so-called) enthusiast were echoing in my head for far too long, but they’ve finally been drowned out. Drowned out by the wail of a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine mounted in the middle of the new Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster. My friend’s point is that back in the good old days, there was a crop of supercars that captured the imagination with amazing style, sounds, performance, and more. Today, it seems like everything is capable of supercar performance, with large luxury sedans outdoing some of the best and most dedicated teams of car nuts, while former pillars of automotive excellence are suddenly pumping out family-friendly SUVs. Beyond that, another league of supercars, dubbed hypercars have cropped up with hybrid gas-electric powertrains that make magical things happen quickly, but at the cost of the acoustic drama, visual flair, and engag...
Post a Comment
Read more

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Audi Teases A7 Details with New Video

Audi’s gearing up to unveil the latest iteration of the A7, and to get you excited they’ve released this teaser video focusing on the details. The lights, the lines, the interior are all teased here, and though on its own the video doesn’t give us a strong sense of what the whole car will look like, with all of the other details we’ve seen so far we now have a pretty good sense of what’s coming. As you might expect, the updated A7 will look broadly similar to the outgoing A7, but will differ in the details. Based on what we’ve seen, the changes look good. As was reported yesterday, we’re expecting a 3.0-liter turbocharged engine, a 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo, a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, and an RS7 that could reportedly make up to 700 hp thanks to the Porsche Panamera’s hybrid drivetrain. We’ll know for sure, though, on Thursday, October 19, when the car is revealed. You can watch the livestream on our site or at audi.com at 2:00 pm. The post Audi Teases A7 Details with New Video app...
Post a Comment
Read more