The countdown to the Golf MK8 starts here, with a host of information promoted for the fist seven generations.

• The history of this German bestseller features many record breaking milestones
• For 42 years a Golf has been sold every 40 seconds around the world

The countdown has begun: in early November, Volkswagen will be introducing a major update for its most successful model – the Golf. 

This best seller has been around for more than four decades. An entire generation has been named after it as Generation X is known as “Generation Golf” in Germany. No other European car has sold better. 

By the end of last year, 32,590,025 Golf cars had been sold. 

In effect, therefore, over the last 42 years someone, somewhere in the world, decides to buy a new Golf every 40 seconds. Record-breaking statistics like these have shaped the car's history. And Volkswagen democratises progress to this very day with the Golf. 

• 32,590,025 vehicles by the end of 2015 – the Volkswagen Golf is the most successful European car ever.
• 21,517,415 vehicles– 2002 saw Golf sales overtake the hither to most successful car in the world: the Beetle.
• 10,000,000 vehicles – by 1988 the Golf had already broken through the ten million vehicles barrier.
• 1,000,000km – in 2003, a Golf Mk1 driver broke through one million kilometres on the clock. More “millionaires” followed.
• €188,938– the most expensive Golf (Generation V) was auctioned in 2005; the first owner was Pope Benedict XVI.
• €10,156– the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's first Golf (Generation II) was auctioned in 2012.
• 2,120 Golf cars per day– this works out at more than two thousand new Golf cars being produced and sold every day for four decades.
• 730 days for the first million– only two years after its debut, the millionth unit of the first Golf was delivered.
• 650 PS for the enthusiasts – the most powerful Golf ever was the GTI W12-650. It was presented in 2007 at the GTI meet at Wörthersee.
• 155 countries – today the Golf is manufactured in five factories (Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico) and exported to 155 countries.
• 5 drive worlds – the Golf is the only car in the world which is available with electric, hybrid, petrol, diesel and gas powered engineoptions.