Gallery: 20 landmark Golfs in 30 million sales
News that the 30 millionth Volkswagen Golf rolled off the line at Wolfsburg had the HJClassics team thinking about the production milestone that marks this car out as such an enduring success since the launch of the Mk1 in 1974.
It wasn't a technical or engineering pioneer, though - there were plenty of other mid-sized hatchbacks before the Golf - but it was a perfect case of a right-first-time product that kick-stated its maker's future fortunes - so much so that it underpinned the Volkswagen Group's relentless growth into arguably the world's largest car company today. The Golf did popularise the hot hatch and four-door cabriolet in the '80s, and V6 and super-green diesel hold-alls during the 1990s.
Enjoy then, our gallery of some of the classic Golf's finest moments...
1989: Volkswagen Rallye Golf
The Rally Golf was Volkwagen's answer to the BMW M3 or Lancia Delta Integrale. It effectively combined the Syncro's 4WD running gear with the G-Lader engine of the G60 to create the ultimate sporting Mk2 Golf. As with the opposition, it was built in limited numbers (5000 in total) as a homologation special, and was powered by a 1763cc version of the engine (to comply with FIA competition regulations).
The Rallye was a bit of a disappointment in road trim, with a maximum power of 161bhp (compared with 200bhp of the Lancia Integrale 16V), and it was twice the price of a standard GTI, so sales were rather slow.
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