The Volkswagen Golf, beloved by many, was the highlight in one of the latest episodes of Donut Media’s Evolution video series. Donut Media’s Evolution video series shows how enthusiast favorite car models morph from model year to model year over time showcasing important enhancements, car specs, and facts.
As with all of Donut Media’s Evolution videos, this one starts at the beginning with the first Volkswagen Golf, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk1 in 1974. The first Golf GTI paved the way for what the term “hot hatch” means today. It was replaced with the Mk2 Golf GTI which added a larger body shell as well as power steering.
Volkswagen has put out a few special Golfs. In 1989, Volkswagen released the Volkswagen Golf Rallye G60. This Golf was a four-wheel-drive racing homologation special. Then in 1990 Volkswagen released the Volkswagen Golf Country Syncro, which was the first ever off-road Volkswagen Golf. In 2015, Volkswagen released a Golf with a path more to the future. They released the Volkswagen e-Golf. The e-Golf was the first all-electric Golf with a range of more than 100 miles and was able to be charged in less than four hours.
In the video, you are taken through the different generations of Golf, from the Mk1 to the Mk7. To highlight a few big items, the Mk3 was the first Golf with a Vr6 engine and the Mk4 was when GTI was watered down to a trim level. In the Mk7 generation of Golf resides the most powerful production Golf ever made – the Volkswagen Golf R. The Golf R featured a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine producing 292 horsepower. This power allowed the Golf R to reach zero to 60 in 5.2 seconds and racing the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds at 103 miles per hour.
For a detailed look at every generation of Volkswagen Golf check out Donut Media’s Golf Evolution video below.
