GTI Meet at Worthersee
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2011 Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 35
1976 Volkswagen Golf GTI
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Austria's "GTI Meet"
24th May, 2010
Europe's GTI Meet 2009
26th May, 2009
31st May, 2011
They are on the road again: at Worthersee (Austria), enthusiasts will be
assembling for the biggest Golf GTI Meet in the world (1st to 4th June). Yet, this time everything is different, because
the festival is taking place for the 30th time in 2011. And that is not all: the Golf GTI itself – an icon of sporty
compacts – has just turned 35! That's 30 years of the GTI Meet and 35 years of the Golf GTI – a double anniversary. And
it is being celebrated in a special way. The highlight: the Golf GTI Edition 35, specially developed for the anniversary
– at 173 kW (235 PS) the most powerful GTI ever! The “anniversary GTI” is now on sale in Europe and will be available in
Australia later in the year.
In addition, car racing is taking special honours at Wörthersee: Volkswagen Motorsport GmbH is bringing the Golf 24 –
the 324 kW (440 PS) all-wheel drive Golf that will compete in this year’s 24-hour race at the Nurburgring (23rd to 26th
June). Because the GTI is celebrating a birthday, a second Golf race car, presented to enthusiasts in a debut at
Worthersee too, will enter the competition at the 'ring as well. It is: a freshly restored Golf GTI 16S Group 4 of the
year 1977. From just 1,600 cm3 displacement, its Oettinger engine transfers a remarkable 158 kW (215 PS) to the
crankshaft – without turbocharger breathing. This GTI classic will race in the 24-hour Classic (3-hours for distance)
that is held before the main event.
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Golf GTI Edition 35: The most powerful Golf GTI outputs the cited 173 kW and can move at 247 km/h. Volkswagen
was by no means satisfied with simply increasing the power of the production engine. Rather, the Golf GTI Edition 35
utilises the engine of the all-wheel drive Golf R, its power adapted to the front-wheel drive. What a success story!
Back in the summer of 1976 – when the very first production GTI was launched – no one ever would have surmised what
Volkswagen had just unleashed: that there would still be a Golf GTI 35 years later; that the power would handily exceed
170 kW; and that nearly two million Golf GTI would be sold by today.
Now, in 2011, the new Golf GTI Edition 35 is proving the potential of the GTI idea. The car offers non-stop road grip
thanks to its XDS electronic differential lock. An optional 6-speed DSG handles gear-shifting in fractions of a second.
The Volkswagen converts each and every one of its maximum of 300 Newton metres of torque into forward propulsion. After
just 6.6 seconds, the GTI passes the 100 km/h mark. Sporty performance and fuel economy are not contradictions here –
and that is how it has always been with the GTI. The standard fuel consumption of the exclusive Golf GTI Edition 35 is
just 8.1 l/100 km; shifted by DSG, fuel consumption even improves to 8.0 l/100 km. This makes the Golf GTI Edition 35
one of the most fuel-efficient sports cars in its power class.
Golf GTI 16S: The key facts about this car show that it is in a league of its own, and not just in the realm
of classic cars: 1,600 cm3 of displacement generates 158 kW (215 PS). With Volkswagen support, the specialists at KWL
Motorsport of Burscheid have rebuilt the GTI. It is equipped with such features as a Bilstein chassis, sequential
5-speed racing gearbox from Volkswagen Motorsport and an 80-litre fuel tank. Over the past two years, KWL Motorsport
has made quite a stir with two class victories at the 24 hour classic at the Nürburgring – in the first generation
Scirocco. This time, motor sport experts are entering the Golf GTI 16S of the year 1977 in Group 4 competition for
engines with up to 2.0 litres displacement – once again with the driver duo Patrick Simon and Heinz Stüber who were
victorious in 2009 and 2010. Their clear goal: a third consecutive class victory for Volkswagen!
Golf 24: In the Golf 24, Volkswagen is bringing a legend back to the 24-hour race. The 324 kW (440 PS)
all-wheel drive car is a new design from the ground up that was developed right on time for the anniversary of the
production GTI. Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen: “What our engineers and technicians have put on wheels
for the 24 hour race is best described by the word Super Golf.” In fact: the Golf 24 is powered by a 2.5-litre
five-cylinder turbo engine. Dr. Donatus Wichelhaus, Director of Engine Development at Volkswagen Motorsport: “We
scrutinised every detail of the base engine and re-engineered it.” When it came to the running gear, Volkswagen
engineers called back on the lay out of the Scirocco GT24-CNG and radically developed it further; Volkswagen Motorsport
2010 scored a three-fold victory with the Scirocco. The chances are good that this year the Golf 24 will continue this
string of successes: three Golf 24 race cars will start – with top-class drivers such as Volkswagen drivers René Rast
and Peter Terting, DTM veteran Edoardo Mortara and Formula-1 drivers Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundel.
Those who want to see the Golf 24 up close before the 24-hour race should head out to Worthersee. But they will have
to hurry – about 200,000 enthusiasts are already on their way!
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