The Golf GTI celebrates 50 years with its sights set on electrification

In 1976, Volkswagen could hardly have imagined the enormous commercial success that the first Golf GTI would achieve. This quintessential sporty and youthful compact car quickly earned an iconic reputation, becoming the benchmark in its segment. From the outset, the GTI (Gran Turismo Injection) designation was associated with fast, aspirational, fun, and highly regarded cars that other manufacturers tried to emulate with varying degrees of success. A Golf GTI is, quite simply, a production Golf that retains its front-wheel drive but incorporates more powerful engines and certain aesthetic details, such as the upholstery, front end, and wheel arches, that identify it as the brand's sporty and youthful variant.

The first Golf GTI that Volkswagen presented in 1976 was a simple yet incredibly effective evolution of the standard model. Volkswagen boosted the power of its naturally aspirated engine to 110 hp, painted some details on the front red and the wheel arches black, and the result was a genuine surprise to everyone. The first Golf GTI weighed only 890 kg, and its agility made it the first hot hatch either spicy compact of history. Volkswagen planned to manufacture around 5,000 units of the Golf GTI, but its success was immediate and resounding, and it ended up manufacturing 461,690 units of the first-generation Golf GTI.

The success of the first Golf GTI prompted Volkswagen to seriously prepare the second generation, or Mk2, a larger and more powerful model. The second-generation Golf GTI boasted 139 hp thanks to a two-liter, 16-valve engine, becoming an automotive icon that made the GTI name legendary. The Golf GTI was easy to drive, fast, agile, and practical for everyday use, making it a versatile and aspirational vehicle that conquered the market. For many, the Golf GTI Mk2 is the best Golf GTI ever made.

With the GTI badge already firmly established, Volkswagen introduced the third-generation Golf GTI, or Mk3, in the mid-1990s. However, the third-generation Golf GTI was larger, heavier, and less fun than its predecessor, despite boasting power outputs of up to 150 hp. In fact, Volkswagen's rivals took note of the Golf GTI's success, and some of its competitors at the time, such as the Honda Civic VTEC, matched (but did not surpass) the sporty feel of the third-generation Golf GTI.

Volkswagen took note, and with the turn of the century, prepared the fourth generation Golf GTI, which for the first time reached the 200 hp power barrier and the arrival of the DSG automatic gearbox, which although at first it did not convince the most purist drivers, soon won the respect of everyone.

However, the Golf GTI's rivals refused to give up, and during the 2010s, we witnessed a fierce battle between the fifth-generation Golf GTI and the Renault Mégane RS, the Opel Astra OPC, and the Seat León Cupra. Although some of its rivals were faster, more powerful, and more effective than the Golf GTI, the Volkswagen compact ultimately leveraged its heritage and market position to remain the benchmark for sporty compacts. It boasts significantly higher sales figures than its rivals, exceeding two and a half million Golf GTIs manufactured and sold over these 50 years.

GTI, tradition or innovation?

To celebrate this anniversary, Volkswagen will release the special edition Golf GTI 50th Anniversary, which, with 325 hp, will become the most powerful Golf GTI ever made, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds and reaching an electronically limited top speed of 270 km/h. However, this special edition will come with a price tag befitting its exclusivity: Volkswagen will ask €56,980 per unit sold in our market, and even then, there will be a waiting list and deliveries several months in advance.

But Volkswagen plans to start selling the new one in 2026. ID. Polo GTI, an electric 226 hp car manufactured in Martorell. Although it might seem logical from an evolutionary point of view, the use of the GTI designation for an electric model has raised eyebrows among more than a few enthusiasts. In recent years, Volkswagen has used the GTE acronym (Gran Turismo Electric) to identify the most powerful zero-emission versions in the range, but this 2026 it will use the acronym GTI for the first time to identify an electric model that does without the gasoline engine, once on the table that makes it very clear what the roadmap of the brand will be during the next few years, and that involves future Golfs.