Is it hot in here?🔥

In 1974, a crew of Volkswagen rebels led by chief press officer, Anton Konrad, drafted a secret project in hopes of creating a sporty version of the Golf. Despite no official mandate to develop the Golfs sporty relative, Board Member for Technology, Hermann Hablitzel, kept the the evasive scheme going. After a few prototypes, ​​Hablitzel and the team were ready to present the project. In March of 1975, the Chairman of the Board of Management, Toni Schmücker, gave the Sport Golf the green light. 

Eager to premiere the car at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in September, the Volkswagen team decided to press the gas and speed up the project. After installing a 1.6-liter fuel-injected engine producing 110 horsepower that accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in under 9 seconds, the car was almost ready to come out of hiding. At the same time, Gunhild Liljequist joined the team and decided on the legendary Tartan interior. Now, there was only one thing missing...a name! TS and GTS were tossed around, but GTI ultimately won. 

While there are many features to love about the GTI, the installation of the 110 PS injection engine revolutionized the performance of compact cars. The mother of Hot Hatches, the GTI has earned its spot in history.