We have all had a Volkswagen Golf or we know someone who has had or has one. There is an explanation: in addition to having been on sale for 50 years, the German compact is the best-selling car in Europe in all of history (and remains at the top of the sales list).
Logically, it is one of the most special models for Volkswagen, which is why Volkswagen Spain has celebrated its 50th birthday in style by organizing The Great Golfada: a massive meeting that brought together more than 2,000 Golf fans to pay tribute to this icon.
An event at the height of a legend in automotive history such as the Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf born in 1974 with a very complicated objective: to take over from the Volkswagen Beetle and become the new people’s car. The rest is history. The Golf more than fulfilled its mission, to the point that, half a century and eight and a half generations later, it continues to sell and is in better shape than ever.
Throughout these 50 years 37 million units have been sold worldwide and in Spain specifically it is a very popular car, in fact, today, more than 770,000 Golfs circulate in our country.
That’s why I say that we have all had a Volkswagen Golf or know someone who has had or has one. Personally, I have owned two Volkswagen Golfs, a GTI mk3 and a GTI 1.8T mk4 of which I have very good memories.
As it is such a popular car, Volkswagen Spain has celebrated its 50th birthday in style, with La Gran Golfada, an event in which 700 units have met of all generations of Golf and more than 2,000 attendees at the Marugán aerodrome, in Segovia.
The event took place last Saturday, September 28 and was a nice tribute that, without a doubt, was on par with a model as transcendent as the Volkswagen Golf. Volkswagen Golfs from all eight generations attended, from a 1979 MK1 that is still on the road at 45 years old and was the oldest model at the event, to the recently renovated Volkswagen Golf 8.5.
Since 50 years is a long time, all kinds of versions of the Volkswagen Golf have been manufactured and some of the most curious were present at La Gran Golfada, such as the Volkswagen Golf mk3 Harlequin that was not sold in Spain (its cousin, the Volkswagen Polo 6N Harlequin).
Los more than 2,000 attendees At the event we were also able to see all types of modified Golfs, dozens of Golf GTI units, many Cabriolets and a few VR6, R32 and R, in addition to more conventional Golfs, such as the extinct Plus and the famous (and fireproof) Golf mk4 1.9 TDI . Personally, I was able to reconnect with the Golf GTI mk3 that I had for 10 years and is now enjoyed by my good friend Bryan, who did not want to miss La Gran Golfada.
I admit that I was very excited to see this car again and that it is still in such good condition, even though it is about to turn 30 years old and has more than 300,000 kilometers behind it. I also can’t deny that I miss him, although he is in good hands.
I was reunited with the Volkswagen Golf GTI 8V ‘Edition’ mk3 that I had for many years.
In the same way that I have a story with a Volkswagen Golf, in my case, doubly because I have had two (so far), each of the more than 2,000 attendees at the event has a story with this car. And no more people came because places were limited.
That’s what it means to be such a long-lived and widely sold model. And it is good that Volkswagen highlights it by celebrating an event like this because few brands have a icon of this magnitude.
This is what Enrique Pifarré, general director of Volkswagen in Spain, recognized during the meeting: “The Golf is the heart of Volkswagen. A car that has connected different generations and has transcended its time. Today we gather to celebrate the passion for this model and remember all those special moments that its owners have lived with it.”
Source: www.motorpasion.com
