While 50 years is an impressive innings for any one variant of car, the Golf GTI’s longevity is not one of those legacies you regard with disbelief – mostly because it seems like it has been around forever. In fact, a quick audit of the PH office confirms that no one person among the chosen few was born before the Mk1 was revealed at the Frankfurt show in 1975 – so, for us lot, in a very real way, it really has been around forever. And in numbers significant enough for it to be virtually ubiquitous on UK roads.
Among them, the anniversary editions have tended to be worth the extra scratch. Certainly the Mk3 version was the best of a generally bad bunch; ditto the Mk4. The Mk5, which added more power in Edition 30 format, was a standout GTI, and the Edition 35 Mk6 (similarly uprated) was decent, too. If the subsequent Edition 40 and Edition 45 arguably dropped the ball, that was partly to do with the number of derivatives surrounding them – not least the Clubsport S and TCR and ever more impressive versions of the Golf R, which have tended to gazump them in the desirability stakes.
But 50, by any measure, is a big one. So let’s hope VW has returned to the special edition drawing board with a renewed sense of purpose. For now, the firm isn’t let much slip beyond the fact that it will ‘present a sporty special model’ at this year’s ADAC 24-hour race at the Nurburgring in celebration of the GTI’s anniversary. For good reason (there are two Golf GTI Clubsport 24h race cars competing for the first time this year) VW considers Germany’s largest motorsport event to be synonymous with the concept of a go-faster GTI. So expect plenty of fanfare.
Expect plenty of badges too, of course. And probably a numbered plaque. If we’re really lucky, the manufacturer might deliver a front-drive GTI with the same 333hp output as the current Golf R, twinned with a suitably overhauled chassis and stickier tyres. But we wouldn’t bet the house on VW finally digging deep enough to offer a stripped-out spiritual successor to the Mk7 Clubsport S, even with the end of pure combustion Golfs now firmly on the horizon. That would be too much to hope for – right?