50 years of Golf
At this time, Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also creates the Passat and the Scirocco, is already in charge of the design. Under the direction of chief designer Herbert Schäfer, the Golf is further developed for series production. 1969–1971 VOLKSWAGEN EA 337 Step-by-step Golf Initially with rectangular headlights and a flatter windscreen, then further refined. Sporty centre Good overall concept, but room for improvement in the detail. 1969 VOLKSWAGEN EA 276 8 | 9 50 J ah re G ol f Sc hö pf un g ENTERING A NEW AGE Clear lines, pure design – the new Volkswagen was a revolutionary development in 1974. Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the Golf and created an icon, no less. Giorgetto Giugiaro, one of the most important automotive designers of our time, stands for simplicity and innovative design – and he also played an important role for Volkswagen. With the creation of a new model family, Giugiaro also designed Volkswagen’s new style from 1970. Maestro Giugiaro still likes to remember the creation of the Golf even after decades, and spoke about it with the Volkswagen Classic editorial team at Italdesign in Turin a few years ago. At the first meeting in Wolfsburg in January 1970, the then Volkswagen CEO Kurt Lotz quickly got to the point: ‘We want you to design a successor to the Beetle for us. And we will be satisfied if the space in the interior is about the same as that of the Beetle,’ recalled Giugiaro. There were also already specifications from Volkswagen: ‘They showed me sketches and diagrams, and then talked about the project of an entire model family and asked if I would be prepared to take on the task – and I was extremely happy about this opportunity.’ The ideas about the new model type were just as specific. ‘The new mass-produced car should be a modern compact car with a boot lid – in other words, a variable vehicle in line with the new trend. Volkswagen already recognised that correctly back then.’
World premiere to mark the 50th anniversary: the new Golf is more attractive, intelligent and efficient than ever before
The Golf is celebrating its 50th birthday this year – and Volkswagen is launching an enhanced version of its bestseller to mark the anniversary. Customers will be able to order the new model in just a few weeks. The new Golf impresses with a next-generation infotainment system, a more intuitive operating concept, a sharper front and rear end design as well as efficient drive systems. These include plug-in hybrid drives with an increased all-electric range of about 100 kilometres. In addition, an illuminated Volkswagen logo adorns the front for the first time on a Golf.
Volkswagen R: The history
20 years of Volkswagen R – A success story since 2002. In 2002, the Volkswagen Golf IV R32 set new standards in the compact class. A top speed of 247 km/h. 177 kW (241 PS) from a capacity of just under 3.2 litres. A six-cylinder engine, 4MOTION all-wheel drive and optionally with the new DSG dual clutch gearbox. At that time, these features were a technical sensation for the Golf class. and marked the birth of Volkswagen’s premium performance brand. To begin with, the plan was to build 5,000 Golf IV R32s based on the Golf IV. In the end, 12,000 vehicles were produced – 7,000 of them stayed in Europe and 5,000 went to the United States, where the sporty Golf had gained cult status. The resounding success marked the starting point for the development of a sporty sub-brand. In 2010, Volkswagen Individual GmbH, which was founded in 2003, became Volkswagen R GmbH. Since 2020, Volkswagen R has been its own independent business unit in the company and has held complete responsibility for the R product brand. It is the Group’s own centre of expertise for developing and marketing R models. Responsibility for the popular sporty R-Line packages remains with the respective product lines. A global community of fans The Volkswagen R models with increased power have their roots in motorsport and stand for the transfer of innovative high-performance technology to series production. Paired with their unique, distinctive designs, this has resulted in more than 300,000 customers ordering a Volkswagen R model to date. The Volkswagen brand’s sportiest and most emotion-invoking models inspire a community of fans around the world. With its technological expertise and incredible capacity for innovation, Volkswagen R ensures the highest standards of performance, safety and quality, enabling the brand to always remain at the cutting-edge of the industry. 20 years of Volkswagen R – Selected heritage models.
Volkswagen R breaks the barrier of 250,000 R models!
Volkswagen R has been exciting its global community of fans with the Volkswagen brand’s most sporty and emotional models ever since.
Volkswagen R has just delivered its 250,000th R model to a customer in Zurich. The special customer, Flavio Zwahlen, bought the current Golf R, the most powerful and dynamic series Golf of all times. Equipped with 320 PS, four-wheel drive and R-Performance torque vectoring, the Golf R impresses customers with its driving dynamics and look. The jubilee model is actually Flavio Zwahlen’s second Golf R. “It is the perfect car for me thanks to its inconspicuous sportiness, first-class interior and incredible sound. With the help of the 4MOTION drive system, the Golf R is also ideal for the mountains.”
Peter Jost, the Head of Marketing and Sales for the Volkswagen R, said it was hardly a coincidence that the 250,000th R jubilee model was sold to a customer in Switzerland: “Switzerland is a very important market for Volkswagen R – also because of the country’s high affinity for performance and four-wheel drive. The R models are really popular here.” In addition to the Golf R32 and the other Golf R generations, Volkswagen R developed and made the models Passat R36, Touareg R50, Scirocco R and Golf R convertible. The R brand and its vehicle models fascinate their customers and are currently making a major financial contribution to VW’s transition to e-mobility.
Golf R-oad trip On the road with Jasmin Preisig
She took her place at the wheel of the new Golf R for a trip through Salzburger Land.
It is sunny in Salzburger Land. The last remnants of the snow can still be found at the edges of paths and on shady mountain roads. Spring is just around the corner. Perfect conditions for a trip in the Golf R. Jasmin Preisig picks up the key. “Driving is mega important to me. I passed my driving licence when I was 18,” explains the 28-year-old racing driver from the Swiss canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. The car is her constant companion.
On the journey to the Senses Violett Suites hotel, she is particularly impressed by the R-Performance Torque Vectoring. It ensures the handling is always neutral and that the Golf R really turns into corners. “I really enjoy driving, and not only when I am on holiday. That is obviously also an advantage in motorsport,” says Preisig, grinning. “But I am relaxing today,” she adds.
Arrival and check-in at the hotel. After briefly checking out the rooms, including the view of the lake, we hit the road again, heading towards Saalbach-Hinterglemm. On the way there, we pass famous ski slopes. “It is almost like home,” says Preisig. “Only, I haven’t actually been skiing all that often. I was always more drawn to cars.”
360° Wolfsburg - November 2020
Travel in comfort: The 5.31-mete r-long van has comfort built in. Q2L e-tron⁴ and the A6L TFSIe⁵ plug-in hybrid. In addition, production of the Audi e-tron⁶ moved to Changchun in late September. Before then, the models had to be imported. Over the next few years, Audi will offer or localize more fully electric models from the e-tron family in China. By 2025, Audi hopes to generate around a third of its sales in China through electrified vehicles. From January to September 2020, Audi delivered 512,081 vehicles to customers in China (+4.5 percent China continues to be the world’s largest market for electric cars, and is continuing to expand its lead in this regard. That’s why it’s so important for our customers to have access to reliable charging infrastructure. We have tested thousands of charging stations in China to ensure they are compatible with the new ID.4. But we’re doing much more than that here at Volkswagen. We are working with our partners JAC, FAW, and Star Change to launch the CAMS joint venture for charging infrastructure. 40 super charging stations are already up and running. Our goal is to have 255 charging stations operational in more than 16 cities with more than 3600 charging points by the end of the year. These systems can recharge even our largest batteries to around 80 percent in under 45 minutes. I know our customers will appreciate this first-class service. New: Stephan Wöllenstein with the new ID.4 CROZZ in front of a CAMS charging station. The battery is recharged up to 80 percent within 45 minutes. compared to the same period in the previous year). Despite the interruptions in production due to the coronavirus pandemic, the brand managed to achieve its best ever result in its 30-year history in China.
Mission Maximum
R Records. Volkswagen Records. ID. R Records. 1 Americans also call the hill climb on Pikes Peak the “Race to the Clouds”. At times, the ID. R was actually above the clouds in the top section of the route, on the final kilometres before the summit. 2 Romain Dumas has driven pretty much anything on four wheels over the course of his career – from desert buggy at the Dakar Rally to LMP1 prototype for his two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He claimed his fourth victory on Pikes Peak with the Volkswagen ID. R. 3 Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets is visibly relieved – shortly after Romain Dumas’ record attempt, a change in the weather brought heavy hailstorms. “That is one of the features of this race – you need to have a bit of luck too,” said Smeets. Pikes Peak was merely the beginning. When Romain Dumas guided the fully-electric ID. R to a new all- time record of 7:57.148 minutes at the most famous hill climb in the world on 24 June 2018, it heralded the start of a pursuit of a host of other international records. On that particular summer’s day in the US state of Colorado, Dumas also laid down the first marker in the most ambitious project in the history of Volkswagen Motorsport. “We did not have any predecessor. We literally started from scratch,” recalls François-Xavier Demaison, Technical Director at Volkswagen Motorsport. The challenge was huge. Starting at 2,862 metres and finishing at the summit at 4,302 metres above sea level, the “Pikes Peak International Hill Climb”, which was held for the first time in 1916, is widely regarded as the most demanding hill climb in the world. But the engineers had already been in record-breaking mood before the car even arrived at the race: thanks to the extensive use of computer simulations and innovative production methods, such as 3D printing, a mere 250 days passed between the start of the project and the rollout – the first functional test at a racetrack.
360° Wolfsburg - February 2020
“These can be easily adapted to the respec- Efficiency Afforded by Versatile Modular Dashboard Dashboard test platform based on the construction kit principle: (l–r) Olaf Bernhard, Christian Westphal, Uwe Kornblum, and Jens Wochau came up with the idea and brought it to life. tive hood variants by means of an automated trimming process, which is why no new tools are required.” The team presented the concept as an idea for improvement in 2017. Since 2018, the modular dashboard has been used successfully and has since been accepted as an idea for improvement. As it varies in length, height, and width, it is suitable for various modular transverse toolkit (MQB) and modular electric-drive toolkit (MEB) vehicles. It has even been used in commercial vehicles such as the ID. BUZZ. One advantage, in addition to the considerable cost reduction, is the simplified testing process. “The modular dashboard can be easily removed and reinstalled,” explains Jens Wochau. The construction kit system has been a huge hit with the designers. Members of Idea Management were impressed by the diversity and camaraderie of the technical development department during the development phase. Another advantage is that a lot of work that previously had to be subcontracted can now be carried out in house. The innovation from the technical development pre-series center has also created a buzz across the Group, with Audi and Skoda already enjoying the benefits of the modular dashboard. Even the developers at Seat have expressed an interest in the efficient construction kits. “This idea for improvement is once again proof that our staff have an enormous amount of potential to come up with amazing ideas. This should be promoted and utilized as quickly as possible to generate the best possible results. In this case, it can even be used across brands in the Group and across component kits in MEB and MQB.” Thorsten Janotta, Head of Ideas Management “ It’s a fantastic idea that has been made a reality!