#2003 GL GOLF HATCHBACK SERIES#

Technical innovations: the anti-lock braking system (ABS), power steering and the “Syncro,” the first all-wheel drive Golf.

#2003 GL GOLF HATCHBACK SERIES#

Series production of the second Golf begins at the Wolfsburg plant in June 1983. It becomes the mirror image of the brand: a compact car with a cross-class status that reaches all levels of society. The new vehicle is a manifestation of the “Golf phenomenon” – the Volkswagen par excellence. This makes the Golf II unmistakable and forgery-proof. Meanwhile, the C-pillar, which is still typical today, builds a bridge between the generations. The rear is radically designed: the taillights of the Golf I are positioned at the very bottom just above the bumper – in the case of the Golf II they now move further up. So no new design that departs from the Golf concept – but nevertheless a new car from bumper-to-bumper according to the motto: continuity in the concept, progress in detail and quality. Original script from Volkswagen in 1983: “The Golf must remain a Golf. The designers consistently follow the DNA of the Golf I and at the same time create progressive new details. Yes, there is a successor! And here it is: The Golf II is bigger and more aerodynamic. The first generation makes its mark: the Beetle's successor is sold 6.99 million times. The advertising starts with the slogan: “The new popular sport: Golf” – a vision that was to come true. In March 1974, the first Golf rolled off the assembly line in Wolfsburg. The stylistic features of the most successful compact car design? “The main design elements of the Golf I – the silhouette with the upright, solid C-pillar, the striking wheel arches and the horizontal front with the slim grille and the headlights protruding downwards – are still to be found in every Golf today,” says Bischoff. With the switch from the air-cooled rear engine to the water-cooled front engine, a completely new vehicle layout was created at the time.” Round became angular – a paradigm shift. Volkswagen Chief Designer Klaus Bischoff: “The step from the Beetle to the Golf was revolutionary. And it is also the year in which Volkswagen presents the first Golf, the successor to the Beetle. 1974 is the year in which Germany becomes football world champions for the second time, the Terracotta Army is discovered in China, ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo” and US President Richard Nixon resigns due to the Watergate affair.

2003 gl golf hatchback