1974, Cars: Volkswagen Golf Mk I (Typ 17)

In May 1974 German carmaker Volkswagen introduced the Golf internally known as Typ 17. The Golf, named after the wind (Golf is German for Gulf Stream), was the successor to Volkswagen's historic Beetle although the Beetle remained in production until 2003 (in Germany 1978).

The development started in 1966. Two prototypes were presented in 1969, one by Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche (VW EA 266) ( EA stands for "Entwicklungsauftrag" or "development assignment") and one by Volkswagen subsidiary Audi NSU Auto Union AG (VW EA 276). The rear wheel drive Porsche design had a water-cooled engine mounted underneath the rear seats. Initially the front wheel drive Auto Union design had the four-cylinder boxer, air-cooled Beetle engine mounted in the front at a later stadium as EA 337 it was replaced by a four-cylinder water-cooled engine (type 827 engine) partly developed by Auto Union GmbH (Audi, DKW, Horch, Wanderer) and Daimler-Benz AG (now Daimler AG). Other prototypes were VW EA 235 (Volkswagen, 1967) and EA 235A (Volkswagen, 1967). Ultimately the design (EA 337) was given to ItalDesign and Giorgetto Giugiaro penned two cars, a coupe and a hatchback. The coupe was presented as the Scirocco and the hatchback as the Golf (Rabbit in the US and Caribe in Mexico).

Predecessor: Volkswagen Typ 1 (Beetle)

Volkswagen prototype EA 235 (1967)

Volkswagen prototype EA 235A (1967)

Volkswagen prototype EA 266 by Porsche (1969)

Volkswagen prototype EA 276 by Audi NSU Auto Union (1969)

Volkswagen prototype EA 276 by Audi NSU Auto Union (1969)

Volkswagen prototype EA 337 by Giorgetto Giugiaro (ItalDesign) (circa 1970)

Volkswagen Golf pré production prototype with sliding front door (1973)

At first the Golf was marketed as a 3-door (Typ 171) and a 5-door (Typ 173) hatchback with two petrol engine choices, a 1.1L (37 kW) and a 1.5L (51 kW). In 1976 a 1.5L diesel engine with 37 kW was available. In 1975 the two-door sport model GTI appeared with a 1.6L engine (81 kW), setting the standard for other manufacturers. In 1979 a two-door cabriolet (Typ 15) appeared produced in Karmann's facility in Osnabruck. In 1980 a pickup known as Caddy (Typ 147) was introduced in the US. In Europe the Caddy was introduced in 1982.

Volkswagen Golf 3-doors (1974)

Volkswagen Golf 3-doors (1974)

Volkswagen Golf interior (1974)

Volkswagen Golf GTI (1975)

Volkswagen Golf 5-door Diesel (1976)

Volkswagen Golf 5-door (1978)

Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet (1980)

Volkswagen Caddy (1982)

In December 1975 the car had a minor facelift, the "swallowtail" rear panel was replaced by a rectangular one. A second facelift followed in August 1978 when plastic wrap-around bumpers replaced the metal versions. In 1980 all models had a final facelift with larger rear lamp clusters and a new dashboard. A total of 6.8 million Mk I Volkswagen Golf's were produced in Melbourne (Australia), Brussels (Belgium), Wolfsburg (Germany), New Stanton (USA), Uitenhage (South Africa), Shah Alam (Malaysia), Puebla (Mexico), Sarajevo/Vogošća (Yugoslavia). Production ended in 1983 (Germany) with the introduction of Volkswagen Golf Mk2 (Typ 19). (in South Africa The Golf Mk I was produced as Citi Golf from 1984 until 2009)

Left to right: "Swallowtail" (1974), 1975 facelift, 1978 facelift, 1980 facelift

Successor Volkswagen Golf Mk 2 (Typ 19, 1983)

Volkswagen Golf Commercial (Germany, 1974)

Volkswagen Golf Test: Rainer Günzler (ZDF, 1974)

Brochures:
Volkswagen Golf, Germany 1974
Volkswagen Rabbit, USA 1975
Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, Germany 1979
Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel, USA 1979
Volkswagen Golf, France 1981

1974, Best selling cars: (West) Germany

Three Volkswagens and three Opels in the top 10. This list contains the best selling car models in (West) Germany with more than 1,000 units sold. 1974 is the year with the changeover between the Volkswagen Beetle and the Volkswagen Golf. (source: Auto Katalog, Germany)

N° 58: Citroën Ami 8

(Super, Super Break) 1,070 units sold

N° 57: Sunbeam

(1300S, 1300TC, 1300TC Tourisme, 1600GLS) 1,139 units sold

(aka Hillman Avenger (UK) / Plymouth Cricket (US))

 N° 56: Toyota Celica

(1600 LT, 1600 ST, 1600 GT) 1,366 units sold

 N° 55: Fiat X1/9

1,956 units sold

N° 54: Opel Admiral/Diplomat

1,957 units sold

 N° 53: Fiat 500

(500, 500R) 2,284 units sold

 N° 52: Toyota Corolla

(1200, 1200 Coupé, 1200 KE36) 2,769 units sold

 N° 51: Citroën Dyane

(Dyane 4, Dyane 6) 3,086 units sold

 N° 50: DAF 44

(Sedan, Combi) 3,129 units sold

 

 N° 49: Citroën ID/DS

(ID20, DS20, DS23, DS23 Injection) 3,314 units sold

N° 48: Chrysler 160/180/2L

4,024 units sold

 N° 47: Renault R15/17

(TL, TS) 4,664 units sold

 

 N° 46: Datsun 120Y

4,668 units sold

 N° 45: Autobianchi A112

(A112, Abarth) 5,151 units sold

 N° 44: Datsun Cherry

(Cherry, Combi, 1200) 5,356 units sold

 N° 43: Volkswagen 412

(Sedan, Variant) 5,693 units sold

 

 N° 42: Peugeot 204

(GL, Break, D, D Break) 6,960 units sold

 

 N° 41: Peugeot 304

(GL, S, S Coupé, S Cabrio, Break) 7,206 units sold

N° 40: DAF 66

(Coupé, Combi, Marathon, Marathon Coupé, Marathon Combi) 8,295 units sold

N° 39: Fiat 124

(Special, 1600 Special T, 1600 Sport Coupé, 1800 Sport Coupé,

1800 Sport Spider, Abarth Rally) 8,668 units sold

N° 38: BMW New Six

(2500, 2800 3.0S, 3.0CS, 3.0CSi, 3.0CSL, 3.3L) 9,200 units sold

N° 37: Peugeot 104

9,391 units sold

N° 36: Audi 50

(LS, GL) 9,629 units sold

N° 35: Volvo 142/144/145

9,867 units sold

N° 34: Volkswagen K70

(L, S) 10,739 units sold

 N° 33: Simca 1000

(SR, Special, Rallye 1, Rallye 2) 10,844 units sold

 N° 32: Fiat 132

(1600, 1800) 11,768 units sold

 N° 31: Opel Manta

(1.2, 1.6, 1.6S, 1.9S, 1.9GT/E) 12,082 units sold

 N° 30: Citroën GS

(Break, Club) 12,640 units sold

 N° 29: Renault R12

(TL, TL Variable, TS) 13,652 units sold

N° 28: Simca 1301/1501

(1301, 1301 Special, 1501, 1501 Special, 1501 Tourisme) 13,658 units sold)

N° 27: Renault R6 (850, TL)

13,887 units sold

 

N° 26: Renault R16

(L, TL, TS, TX) 16,210 units sold

N° 25: Fiat 126

16,577 units sold

N° 24: Volkswagen Scirocco

(L, S, LS, TS) 16,967 units sold

N° 23: Fiat 127

17,068 units sold

N° 22: Peugeot 504

(L, GL, Ti, Commerciale, Break, Familiale, LD, GLD)

18,083 units sold

N° 21: Citroën 2CV

(2CV4, 2CV6) 21,696 units sold

N° 20: Simca 1100

(LS, GLS, Special, Ti, Tourisme) 22,564 units sold

N° 19: Fiat 128

(1100 Special, 1300 Special, 1100 Sport Coupé, 1300 Sport Coupé, Rally, Familiare)

23,660 units sold

 N° 18: Ford Capri II

(1300, 1600, 2300GT, 3000GT) 24,784 units sold

 N° 17: Renault R5

(TL, TS) 26,959 units sold

N° 16: Ford Escort MkI

(1100, 1100 Turnier, 1300, 1300 Turnier, 2000RS)

28,243 units sold

 

 N° 15: BMW 5-series

(518, 520, 525, 528) 29,019 units sold

 N° 14: Mercedes-Benz W116

(280S, 280SE, 280SL, 280SLC, 350SE, 350SL, 350SLC, 450SE, 450SL, 450SLC)

29,199 units sold

N° 13: Ford Consul / Granada

(Consul: 1700, 1700 Coupé, 1700 Turnier, 2000, 2000 Coupé, 2000 Turnier, 2300,

2300 Coupé, 2300 Turnier; Granada: 2000, 2000 Turnier, 2300, 2300 Coupé,

2300 Turnier, 2600, 2600 Coupé, 2600 Turnier, 3000, 3000 Coupé, 3000 Turnier)

40,747 units sold

 N° 12: Audi 100

(1.6, 1.7, LS, GL, Coupé S) 43,396 units sold

 N° 11: Renault R4

(0.8, L) 44,526 units sold

N° 10: BMW 02-series

(1602, 1802, 1800 Touring, 2002, 2000 Touring, 2002 Cabrio, 2002 tii, 2002 Turbo)

45,158 units sold

 N° 9: Opel Ascona

(1.2, 1.6, 1.6 Voyage, 1.6S, 1.6S Voyage, 1.9S, 1.9S Voyage)

60,942 units sold

N° 8: Ford Taunus TC1

(1300, 1300 Coupé, 1300 Turnier, 1600, 1600 Coupé, 1600 Turnier, 2000,

2000 Coupé, 2000 Turnier, 2300, 2300 Coupé, 2300 Turnier)

65,625 units sold

 N° 7: Volkswagen Golf

(N, L, S, LS, TS) 71,403 units sold

 N° 6: Audi 80

(S, LS, GL, GT) 77,094 units sold

N° 5: Opel Rekord/Commodore (D-series)

(Rekord: 1.7, 1.7 Caravan, 1.7S, 1.7 Coupé, 1.9, 1.9 Coupé, 1.9 Caravan,

2100D, 2100D Caravan; Commodore: 2.5S, 2.5S Coupé, 2.8S, 2.8S Coupé,

GS/E, GS/E Coupé) 93,673 units sold

N° 4: Mercedes-Benz W114 / W115

(200, 200D, 220D, 230, 240D, 250, 250C, 280, 280E, 280C, 280CE)

99,000 units sold

 

N° 3: Volkswagen

(1200, 1200L, 1302, 1303, 1303LS Carbrio)

(Type 1, Beetle) 121,351 units sold

N° 2: Opel Kadett (C-series)

(1.0, 1.0 Coupé, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2 Coupé, 1.2 Caravan, 1.2 S, 1.2 S Coupé,

1.2 S Caravan, GT/E) 127,207 units sold

N° 1: Volkswagen Passat

(L, L Variant, LS, LS Variant, TS) 131,442 units sold