2 million units, four decades and an Icon of motoring, that will be the Golf GTi.

• Volkswagen marks four decades of a genuine motoring icon  
• Record-breaking Golf GTI Clubsport S takes Nürburgring front-wheel drive crown
• GTI owners across the UK meet to celebrate their love of the ‘hot hatch’ legend

As 2016 winds to a close Volkswagen in the UK is looking back on 12 months of celebrations, records and record-breaking interest in one of the brand’s genuine automotive icons: the Golf GTI.

40 years ago a small group of German engineers, managers and, above all, motoring enthusiasts came together to create what was quickly to become a motoring phenomenon – the original Golf GTI.

Former Communications Director at Volkswagen, Anton Konrad, along with Hermann Hablitzl, head of Golf project development at the time; Herbert Schuster, a chassis expert who would later become a member of the board responsible for development; Jürgen Adler, a specialist in interior design; and Horst-Dieter Schwittlinsky from marketing were the originators of the GTI.

They were later joined by Gunther Kühl from motorsport and engineer Alfons Löwenberg as they crafted the GTI unofficially and, essentially, in secret.

Initially engineered as an enthusiast project, it soon became clear after the first Golf GTI hit showrooms in 1976 that the brand’s initial predictions of 5,000 sales might have been somewhat conservative.  Today – seven generations and more than two million sales later – the Golf GTI still engenders avid interest from enthusiast owners, and would-be owners, around the world.

The UK, long a hotbed for hot hatch appreciation, took the GTI to its automotive heart early and has remained true to this special Volkswagen for four decades.  Indeed when the Golf GTI Clubsport S project was announced earlier this year Volkswagen UK took the bold decision to ring-fence no fewer than 150 of the 400-run limited edition GTI celebration models for its Retailers here, making the UK the world’s single biggest market for the ‘ultimate’ Golf GTI.

It was a decision that was soon vindicated as the Clubsport S sold out to eager buyers nationwide even before its £33,995 RRP price tag was officially announced in August.  The Clubsport S is, currently, the ultimate expression of the GTI bloodline.  The front-wheel-drive car’s 2.0-litre TSI engine packs 310 PS, enabling a blistering 7m 47.19 s record lap time around the infamous ‘green hell’ of the gruelling Nürburgring Nordschleife and a top speed, where legal, of 164 mph.

Those who missed out on the Clubsport S here though might perhaps have been tempted by the brand’s GTI Clubsport Edition 40 – 1,000 of which were offered to UK drivers in 2016.  Powering this latest special edition in the GTI range is a 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection engine that delivers 265 PS, with an additional ‘overboost’ function increasing the engine power to 290 PS for up to ten seconds under intense acceleration.

Priced from £30,875 (RRP OTR) the GTI Clubsport Edition 40 features a host of bespoke additions and enhancements to mark it out as a potential future classic and, like its extreme, track-honed cousin the Clubsport S, it also sold out within weeks of arriving in Retailer showrooms.

In the UK, a series of events has been held to celebrate the GTI’s enduring appeal.  Among the highlights, an eclectic mix of Volkswagen Golf GTIs from across the model’s remarkable 40-year history journeyed to Volkswagen UK’s headquarters in Milton Keynes on Saturday, 20 August, to attend a special ‘birthday celebration’ for the iconic hot hatch.

The unique event, organised in association with the UK’s largest online motoring forum – PistonHeads.com – saw the owners of 85 GTIs from across the years make the pilgrimage to the cars’ spiritual home in Britain – the headquarters of Volkswagen UK in Milton Keynes.

Internationally, the 35th Wörthersee Meet in Austria saw tens of thousands of GTI fans travel to the picturesque Reifnitz on the southern shore of Lake Wörthersee for a gigantic party to celebrate the 40^th birthday of the cult hot hatch.  Volkswagen took all seven generations of the Golf GTI along, as well as the Clubsport and Clubsport S for Volkswagen enthusiasts to admire.

While Volkswagen’s Golf Gran Turismo Injection has evolved significantly from its earliest iteration – the 0-62 mph acceleration time of the original 1976 car, at 9.2 seconds, is eclipsed significantly by the Clubsport S’s 5.8 seconds for instance – the sporting ethos and commitment to everyday driving fun remains true to that of the original.  

With a new Golf GTI due to debut in 2017 boasting more power, enhanced technology, refreshed styling and more equipment than ever before the future looks bright, too, for one of Volkswagen’s true icons. 

The first Volkswagen Golf GTi open took place at the weekend, where models from all generations were in attendance.

The unique event, organised in association with the UK’s largest online motoring forum – PistonHeads.com – saw the owners of 85 GTIs from across the years set their alarms extra early and ignore typically British ‘summer’ rain to make the pilgrimage to the cars’ spiritual home in Britain – the headquarters of Volkswagen UK in Milton Keynes.

Branded the first PistonHeads’ Golf GTI Open, the event drew a remarkable mix from across the four decades of the car’s existence – with everything from meticulously restored examples to flamboyantly modified GTIs converging on the brand’s UK HQ.

The honourable award for rarity went to the solo Golf GTI Mk III in attendance, while a plethora of Mk V cars – 24 to be precise – saw that iteration of the charismatic hot hatch become the most numerous on show, just pipping the Mk II of which 23 examples were on display.

Volkswagen UK supported proceedings with a mini GTI showcase of its own including a carefully restored Mk I and, bringing things bang up to date, the very first example of the already sold-out Golf GTI Clubsport S to be seen in the UK; the left-hand drive car having been loaned for the event by Volkswagen’s global headquarters in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony.

James Drake, Head of Community and Marketing at PistonHeads, said: “The PH Sunday Service is a tried, tested and hugely popular format for gathering PHers together at significant motoring-related venues nationwide to admire cars, swap ownership stories and generally bring the online forums into the ‘real world’.

“When Volkswagen suggested we consider creating a PH Sunday Service-style celebration event for the GTI we jumped at the chance and Saturday’s PH Golf GTI Open with its impressive turn-out of superb Golfs from across the years, and across the country, clearly demonstrates both the breadth of PH membership and the appeal of the GTI.”

Mike Orford, Head of Press and PR for Volkswagen in the UK, was at Saturday’s celebrations.  He said: “This inaugural Golf GTI Open has been a resounding success.  I can honestly say I’ve never seen such a varied selection of Golf GTIs in one place, and to gather them together here at our headquarters for this celebration shows the depth of feeling – love, even – British owners of this iconic hot hatch feel for their cars.”

The Golf GTI was launched to a stunned automotive audience in 1976, with the German brand initially targeting sales of around 5,000, globally, for the newly minted performance version of its already well-regarded compact hatchback.

Today, 40 years and more than two million registrations later, the Golf GTI remains a genuine icon of ‘everyday’ sporting excellence. 

The latest chapter in this exciting story, limited to just 400 examples worldwide, is the exceptional Golf GTI Clubsport S of which 150 in right-hand drive form have been earmarked for UK customers.  The 310 PS ‘ultimate GTI’ sold out here within weeks of its announcement, which came as the car claimed the front-wheel drive lap record for the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife in an incomparable seven minutes and 49 seconds.

Forty years ago a car was launched that dominated a segment, and now, after all those years, the 3-Series is still king.

In 1975, BMW introduced the 3 series, a sporty sedan that became synonymous with the brand's performance image.

Forty years later, despite intensifying competition and changing customer tastes, the 3 series still dominates its segment. Competitors openly benchmark the 3 series and target it in their advertising. Buff books lavish it with praise. Dealers love the repeat business.

In many ways, the 3 series is BMW, the brand with the enviable mystique built on German engineering and uncompromised performance.

But the competition is coming on strong; some experts say the Mercedes-Benz C class and Cadillac ATS are already on par with the 3 series when it comes to technology and performance. The next-generation Audi A4 due next year could be another tough rival.

The question is whether BMW can maintain the 3 series' performance aura in a market demanding more luxury, connectivity, semiautonomous driving technology and increased fuel economy.

BMW can't afford not to.

The 3 series accounts for about 25 percent of BMW sales worldwide, the automaker says. In the United States, 501,569 luxury compact cars were sold last year, and the 3 series (and its spinoff 4 series) accounted for nearly 28 percent of those sales -- a percentage BMW has maintained seven out of the last 10 years.

Dealers testify to the nameplate's market strength.

"I've had repeat buyers over and over again. Over the years, the 3 series has evolved, and the technology has evolved, but they have not rested on their laurels," says Joe Laham, owner of BMW of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Laham, who sells 10 other brands including Audi and Volvo, says rivals have a hard time conquesting 3-series buyers.

"Everybody has tried to benchmark it," he says. "I do value my partners, but it is tough to compete with the legend."

Lutz: At the creation

The legend has been decades in the making. Fabled executive Bob Lutz joined BMW in 1971 as the board member for global sales and marketing and helped create that aura.

Lutz was there when the 3 series was launched and when BMW's tag line "Aus Freuden am Fahren" ("For the Joy of Driving") became "The Ultimate Driving Machine."

"We blessed it as conveying exactly the right blend of superiority and excellence," Lutz says. "It was the BMW promise that nobody else could make."

In the last five years, mechanically and with performance, other cars have caught up to the 3 series, he says: "What hasn't disappeared is the reputation and the brand image. It is not totally reflected by reality, but it was well-earned in a 35-year history producing good and desirable cars."

It's an enviable position, admits Johan de Nysschen, president of Cadillac, a brand that wants to dethrone the 3 series. BMW's mystique is the result of "many generations of consistency," one that Cadillac is seeking to emulate, he adds.

De Nysschen believes General Motors' brand can compete, but the perception of Cadillac as a true player will come with "consistent execution. We will see a change in five years."

"My former employer Audi are respected today. They did not get there overnight; it has taken them 20 to 25 years, and our journey will not be that long."

But he concedes it is hard to dislodge an image as strong as the 3 series': "They have embodied that in their product and developed this intangible aura and an appeal that has much intangible value. People imagine the car is much greater than it is."

There is some support for de Nysschen's opinion.

Although the 3 series has reached "that pinnacle level and has maintained it," says Stephanie Brinley, an analyst with IHS Automotive in Detroit, "I am not sure that BMW has progressively improved the 3 series as much as others have improved their cars."

'Driver focus'

Other experts say competitors still are far from matching the 3 series' "driver focus," as Tim Urquhart, an analyst with IHS in London, puts it. "It consistently beats its rivals on that."

Jean Jennings, editor of jeanknowscars.com and former editor of Automobile magazine, figures there are "at least a half-dozen competitors" vying for the 3 series' crown. Yet the 3 won an Automobile All-Star award 29 years in a row -- more than any other car, Jennings says.

She'd place odds on Mercedes-Benz and Audi coming close in sales. "If Porsche decided to make a four-door sedan in that size, it would probably wipe it up," Jennings adds.

BMW says it has sold 14.6 million 3-series models (including the 4 series coupe and convertible spun off from the 3 series) worldwide since the car went on sale in 1975. Of those, more than 11 million were sedans or station wagons.

Stephan Kessel, BMW AG's head of production management for the 3 and 4 series, says that track record makes the 3 series "the heart of the brand. Most of the values that BMW stands for are in the 3 series. It is an ambassador."

The 3 series has added significance in the U.S.: BMW of North America was founded 40 years ago when the brand took over the sales and distribution of its vehicles from independent distributors.

"When we decided to open our own division in the U.S., that was at the same time that BMW released the most important car as a company," says Manuel Sattig, head of brand strategy in the United States.

The 3 series is the epitome of BMW's marketing as the ultimate driving machine "because it is related to that feeling when you shift the gears and that direct response of using the gas pedal -- it gives you that dynamic driving feeling," Sattig says.

Even Consumer Reports sings the 3 series' praises.

Jake Fisher, the magazine's director of auto testing, says: "It has for a very long time been The One. This is the small, fun-to-drive, luxurious vehicle, and it hasn't had a lot of competition for quite a while."

Lutz says a key to the success of the 3 series is that "it was always superbly engineered."

"It was engineered up to a desirable level as opposed to engineered down to a specific cost," he says. "People expected to pay more."

"That is where the slogan came from. The focus in marketing and the car was on vehicle dynamics, good brakes, sharp handling and good engine sound -- all of the things that provide gratification to the driver."

Urquhart of IHS says the competition has intensified in the last two decades, "but the 3 series is still the benchmark."

With the redesigned C class launched last fall, the Mercedes-Benz sedan "is beginning to close that gap" because of its "premium quality and equipment, and it is a far improved drive over its predecessor," he says.

Mercedes-Benz continues to maintain a price premium over the 3 series with the C class. The C300 starts at $39,325, compared with $34,145 for BMW's entry 320i. Both prices include shipping.

Heiko Schmidt, product manager for the C class at Mercedes-Benz USA, says: "We have come a long way in the last two generations. We closed the gap with the 3 series when you benchmark to powertrain, fit and finish and especially inside with quality."

In the coming year, the C class will get a coupe and convertible designed from the ground up, derivatives that Heiko says finally will put Mercedes on a more level playing field with the 3 series.

2 is the new 3?

Consumer Reports' Fisher says the 3 series isn't the most highly rated car: "In terms of reliability, safety and luxury, there are better cars." He accuses BMW of going "a bit mainstream and backing off that fun-to-drive factor" to appeal to the market's seemingly insatiable demand for plush interiors and entertaining electronics.

For instance, the freshened 2016 3 series boasts an optional color head-up display, parallel and perpendicular parking assist, a navigation system with 3-D visualization in cities and over-the-air maps.

The smaller, less fussy 2-series coupe is what the 3 series used to be, Fisher says.

"The new BMW 3 series is a BMW 2 series -- the 235i is the most classic," he said. "It is fun to drive, luxurious and can hold its own with the luxury and livability."

In Lutz's view, the 3 series faces another challenge. He figures that in the next five years, sporty compacts will matter less as the market continues to shift to compact crossovers: "More and more, worldwide customers are abandoning sedans. If the current trend continues, they will be very rare in five years."

Laham, the Cape Cod dealer, admits some of his former 3-series customers now own the BMW X3 or X1 compact crossovers: "If they don't buy another 3, they buy a variation -- an X3 or an X1." But, he adds, "all of that technology has come off the 3 series."

Lutz says that even with changing consumer tastes and advancing competitors, the 3 leads the pack. "BMW will devote all the technology and marketing to make sure the 3 series remains premium," Lutz says. "In real terms, if it was a 9.2, most others are an 8.5 or a 7.5."

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Diana T. Kurylko