Flame On

The India-bound Polo GTI is a different animal to the standard Polo and is a properly focused machine!

- Jamshed Patel

History has it that when a car maker has been brave enough to trust enthusiasts despite market surveys, it has proved to be a great decision. Case in point was Volkswagen when they decided to introduce the GTI brand with the Mark 1 Golf in 1976 for those who wanted sports car fun for the price of a hatchback. You could get to 182kmph, which in those days seemed a bit ridiculous for a hatchback, for 14,000 Deutsch Mark (roughly just over ₹5 lakh). Here’s the unbelievable part – the project was initially not endorsed by the management. Rumour has it even the CEO didn’t know about the project until the engine developers (led by Ferdinand Piech) and the PR guys convinced them to approve a small batch of 5,000 cars. The rest as they say…. VW has sold 2 million Golf GTIs since.