{"id":619654,"date":"2023-03-19T09:48:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-19T14:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/19\/a-short-history-of-the-vw-mark-1-rabbitgolf-2021\/"},"modified":"2023-03-19T09:48:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T14:48:55","slug":"a-short-history-of-the-vw-mark-1-rabbitgolf-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/19\/a-short-history-of-the-vw-mark-1-rabbitgolf-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"A short history of the VW Mark 1 Rabbit/Golf (2021)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Mark 1 Golf\/Rabbit was created using many parts recently acquired with Auto Union, and used in the new Audis. These in turn came from development work Mercedes had done in adapting\u00a0a small water-cooled four cylinder industrial motor for use in an updated DKW F102 (launched as the Audi F103 in 1965). To increase packaging efficiency, VW engineered a gearbox to mount the motor longitudinally, like the British Mini, and ditched the trunk for an unconventional\u00a0\u2018two-box\u2019 design with a hatchback, instead of a ‘three box’ sedan with a hood, a cabin and a trunk.\u00a0VW did follow up with a sedan later, when they added a trunk tot he Rabbit and called it the Jetta.<\/p>\n

Initially, VW\u2019s hatchback came with just three doors, though a five door version quickly followed, and convertible and pickup truck versions were also produced. The body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also designed the exotic Delorean and the revolutionary (for its time) Lotus Esprit.<\/p>\n

According to some, the name \u2018Golf\u2019 comes from the German \u2018Golfstrom\u2019, or gulf stream, which fits with\u00a0VW’s use of\u00a0\u2018Scirocco\u2019, the hot Mediterranean wind, and ‘Jetta’, German for jet stream. Others point out that it could be just a literal reference to the\u00a0popular sporting pastime for the affluent \u2013 note the\u00a0VW \u2018Polo\u2019 sold in Europe.\u00a0In the US, however, the Mark 1 Golf was called the Rabbit, because it was meant to be small and nimble, and ‘Golf” sounded too upscale for an economy car aimed at young buyers. Years later, they would also introduce the VW Fox, carrying on that theme.<\/p>\n

The Rabbit stayed on the US market from 1974 to 1983, when it was finally replaced by the MK2 Golf, which kept the same Golf shape, but it was longer and wider. There was a minor facelift in 1980, bringing larger rear lamps, new bumpers, better instruments and (in the US) square headlights. A Rabbit convertible, known later as the Cabriolet, was introduced in 1980\u00a0and sold until 1993, featuring a distinctive ‘basket handle’ for rollover protection and structural integrity. Because small pickup trucks from Toyota and Datsun were selling so well in America, the VW USA factory developed a extended wheelbase Rabbit Pickup in 1979, by cutting off the roof in the back and fitting a solid rear axle with leaf springs. By the end of production in South Africa in 2009,\u00a0well over 6 million Mark 1\u2019s had been sold, in hatchback, pickup, and cabriolet body styles.<\/p>\n

Much like the original Beetle, the Golf\/Rabbit was intended as a practical small family car and the engine choice reflected this. In Europe, engines started with\u00a0a 1.1 liter gas unit producing a modest 50 horsepower, but North American models initially got 70 horsepower from a 1.5 liter. There was also an amazingly efficient 1.5 liter diesel version, which was practically a new class of car at the time, and reportedly could get more than 40 miles per gallon. Those power figures may seem low, but in these early days of federal crash regulations, the Rabbit weighed in at less than 1800 lbs, ready to drive.<\/p>\n

The most important Golf\/Rabbit variant, however, has to be the GTI.<\/p>\n

The much-loved GTI\u00a0is credited with creating the whole\u00a0category of fun to drive, economy car, dubbed the ‘hot hatch’. Available in Europe before it came to the USA in 1983, when we did get it it was with an even better 1.8 liter fuel injected motor and near 100 horsepower. With a curb weight of just 1780 lbs, this was enough to give the Mark 1\u00a0GTI\u00a0a top speed of 110 mph and a 0-60 time of 9 seconds \u2013 equal to a Corvette, Datsun 280ZX, or Mazda RX-7 in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

The VW Golf range has come a long way since the original Mark 1\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s certainly got a lot bigger \u2013 but the changes have been mostly evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The Golf Mark 1, however, was a genuine revolution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Tomi Pekar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mark 1 Golf\/Rabbit was created using many parts recently acquired with Auto Union, and used in the new Audis. These in turn came from development work Mercedes had done in adapting\u00a0a small water-cooled four cylinder industrial motor for use in an updated DKW F102 (launched as the Audi F103 in 1965). To increase packaging<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":619655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1130,2009,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-619654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-history","8":"category-short","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}