Say what you like about the scorching price of the Golf GTi 50 Special Edition, it has been – and still is in many people’s mind – a wonderful piece of motoring.
If, at a juncture in our lives we get a chance to sample something we cannot have but can, momentarily use, we should grasp it.
And hang on until it fades into fond memory.
Which is what I did with the Golf GTi 50 Edition: it’s still something of a dream maker. So long as you can keep the price banished to the dark corners of the mind.
Taking it for a few forays up and down the country recently, brought back memories of nipping over to Galway on a blessed Saturday afternoon just for the fun of it, or heading to Cork not because something had to be done – No, it was just because I could. There were no obligations to cloud the enjoyment of what was then the undisturbed best compact performance car on the road.
And the Edition 50, tested, still holds that bit of magic. Just to feel it accelerate. Just to feel it nose around bends, to drive it on a bumpy, harsh surface and come away unscathed and smiling. The grip, the obedience of response to the throttle are phenomenal: it can do 0-100kmh in 5.3-seconds. But it’s better than any 5.3/100kmh.
You feel the great front bucket seats pushing into your back as you hold the gears to get the high revs and parallel velocity. Its automatic DSG with ‘manual’ in parallel, is a nod to the old times when a manual only was used.
I was so contented with the handling I just let it ebb and flow in accordance with how it dealt with the good, the bad and the ugly roads. It isn’t often you feel so much a part of a car.
It was only when my time in the 50 was drawing to a close that I jotted down a few notes. Not that I was going to forget this drive in quite some time.
The Golf GTi Edition 50 celebrates the half-century anniversary of the famous hot hatch. Its first edition was unveiled in 1976.
Now this Edition 50 not only marks a milestone of the hot hatch. It gives us the riveting, most powerful turbocharged production GTi of all time – a cracking 325 PS with 420Nm of torque.
Key rivals include the Golf R (333hp, €76,860, Honda Civic Type R (315hp), Toyota GR Corolla (300 hp), Audi S3 (310 hp).
They say the GTi Clubsport is used to give the ‘50’ an aggressive-looking aerodynamic package. Honestly, I don’t see the Golf as an aggressive looking car. It’s deceptively low key in looks.
It does hint at something with the red-and-black graphic down both sides; roof and door mirrors are black too while there are ‘50’ badge insets too.
More promise from inner prowess comes with the red-and-silver pedal covers, a chunky steering wheel with a lovely soft material and red seatbelts.
And there, as if it never left, was the tartan pattern spanning 50 years in some guise or other in the GTi.
There’s a list of wheels you can get – ‘19ins’ as the Performance package gets semi-slick tyres and 5mm lower ride height.
With a litany of electrics added via that package, you really do get a serious performance car.
There is good space at the back and an okay amount of room in the boot.
There are 15 modes of electric damper control, a super-tech differential to help the front wheels with traction; and variable-ratio steering.
Basically, if you upgrade to the Performance Package there are loads of electronic control systems suspension components designed for an even better drive.
The dream draws to an end. The Edition 50 starts at €72,830. Add the Performance Package and you’ll be spending more than €80,000. The Clubsport costs from €64,740; the cheapest GTi is €60,795.
For all that, there remains something inescapably special about this car.
It has a coherence of dynamics aligned for pace and power, while at the same time, being perfectly capable of doing the school runs, like an obedient hatchback.
