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It’s a good thing that the factory in Wolfsburg makes cars because it’s in the middle of nowhere. Admittedly, that’s by the loose standards of tiny Europe, but still, getting there from anywhere seems to take ages, even on the unlimited, but congested Autobahn. And that’s why it’s so impressive that a few hundred GTI enthusiasts (among others) showed up to Coming Home 2017, VW’s first ever GTI Treffen at the mothership.
To be fair, GTI lovers have proven, if nothing else, that they’re willing to travel to talk about their favorite car. Every year, a massive group takes over an Alpine town in Austria along the shores of Wörthersee. In many ways, the May show—the largest of its kind in the world—kicks off the show season in Europe. For the first time ever, VW decided to close the show season by inviting all of those GTIs (and any VW that wanted to participate) to the Wolfsburg factory where they first rolled off the line 41 years ago. And as a special treat, they got to ride in procession along the boulevards that bracket the world’s largest manufacturing plant.
“We were asked about setting up a GTI meet in Wolfsburg during the Wörthersee event”, said Jürgen Stackmann, member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen brand. “With this event we are demonstrating that we listen to our fans, and we hope to welcome as many of them as possible here at the main plant in Wolfsburg – the birthplace of the GTI.”
Along with the owners, VW Vortex was invited to play along and handed the keys to a brand new 2018 Euro GTI, more on that at a later date. As you might expect, given the chance to hang out under the shadow of the Volkswagen plant, the show was pretty well attended. And as with any show full of GTIs and their enthusiasts, it was a ball, even if the language barrier did cause me to order some unholy concoction made of equal parts orange soda and Coke instead of the pretzel I wanted (it’s called “Spezi” and it actually tastes pretty good, but it doesn’t taste even a little bit like a pretzel).
As you might expect, the show didn’t attract as many people as Wörthersee and since it was a one-day show a drive away from anywhere, there wasn’t quite the same bacchanalian sense of revelry that you see along the lake, either. There was, though, a certain magic to returning to the mothership. Knowing that the steel in these cars, repainted, remolded, or rearranged as it was, all got pressed into its original shape only a few feet away; knowing that the planning, development, and testing all happened where these cars now drove really made the show feel special.
Along with the VW currywurst, you could also buy the curry ketchup, VW’s own coffee, Bulli-shaped pasta and a range of VW-themed, or VW-branded ephemera to make the nerdy collectors among us twitch with pleasure.
The show, though, as needs must, took place in the parking lot of Vfl Wolfsburg (the local pro soccer team)’s arena parking lot. By 4:00, though, the show seemed to empty of cars, all of which had lined up and were waiting for the procession through the factory to begin. At the surprisingly unGerman crack of 4:04, we took off in a line. Lucky enough to have been paired with a German VW PR agent, I was elected as one of the leaders—after all, we’re just giving the title to anyone now—and asked to drive my borrowed red GTI at the front.
It was hard to understand just how long the line was, but thanks to a tour of the factory I was given just a day before, I know that the factory is nearly a mile long, so the street must be longer. I also know that the factory is 300 meters wide (nearly 1,000 feet). So when drove up the first boulevard, around and back down the same length, and then finally back around to the street we started on and ran into the tail end of the procession, it was an impressive testament its size.
And even though Stackman sounds a little bitter in his quote near the top (to be fair, I think that’s just German literalness, not snideness) Coming Home was a nice reminder that even though VW has been extremely forward facing lately, they haven’t abandoned their fans. It’s important to look forward. It’s a popular trope about Germany that it’s full of medieval castles and bucolic villages, but it can also be a very modern place. The future and the past live side by side and it’s a helpful reminder that even though it’s difficult to look both forward and backward at the same time, it can lead to great things. Even as VW tries to conquer the electric and the SUV markets, they’re showing a little love for their fans. It’s nice to see 40-year-old Golfs in the same place that the I.D. is being designed.
Come back throughout the week for themed galleries from the Coming Home 2017.
The post Coming Home: GTIs Return to Wolfsburg After Years Away appeared first on VWVortex.
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