Volkswagen’s desire to find a replacement for the Beetle was not unfounded. By 1970, sales for the Beetle had declined significantly, and more than ever, the German automaker needed an update. That is when it brought in Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugario. At the time, Giugario was in a period of designing vehicles that featured hard lines and sharp curves, which became known as his “folded paper” style of design. This style was in total contrast to the Beetle, which was about as rounded a car as you were going to find on the market.
This was not the only car Giugardo was creating for Volkswagen at the time. His first design to hit the market was for the Passat, which launched a year before the Golf, and the Scirocco followed soon after. Looking at all three of these models, it’s clear they share many of the same design elements, from the perfectly long rectangle front with rounded headlights to the sharply angled back. The Passat was more of a sedan, and the Scirocco was more of a sports car.
Then there was the Golf Mk1, which wound up being a smashing success. The Golf sold over six million units in its first decade of production from 1974–1983. A year into its existence, VW introduced the GTI variation to appeal to those who wanted more speed, and it also became a hit. After all the years of wanting a Beetle replacement, it looked like VW found it.
[Featured image by Vauxford via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]