Volkswagen at 70: Seven decades of local icons

“Are we really going to do this? Or more specifically, what possessed them allowing us to do this?”

This was my unspoken thought to a colleague clicking away on his camera in front of a pair of immaculate Volkswagen Beetles and a beautiful 1976 Audi 100 Coupe S outside the Boardwalk Hotel in Port Elizabeth just over two weeks ago.

Past heroes

The reason for my hesitation was however justified. In front of us stood a variety of iconic Volkswagen and Audi models from the marque’s heritage collection, the oldest being a 1958 Beetle Cabriolet and the newest from 2003, one of the last rear-engine T3s, still with its original radio/cassette player.

Also present was a 1978 Mk I Golf GLS automatic, a 1981 Jetta GLS auto, an original, in red, 1985 CitiGolf Sport and, fully repaired after being written off in an accident a decade or so ago when the transporter carrying it and a few other vehicles from an event along the Garden Route rolled over, the very last South African built Beetle.

There were also two models present the contingent of scribes were all foaming to sample; a Mk I Golf GTi from 1984 and, “pretending” to blend-in in its unassuming white suite, a 1994 Audi S4.

Their presence, just like the shattered nerves of many present, including yours truly, not at least senior Volkswagen South Africa personal, was however unsurprising.

Where it began…

In August 1951, after negotiations the previous year, the very first locally assembled Beetle rolled-off of the South African Motor Assemblers and Distribution (SAMAD) plant in Uitenhage, a facility which at the time also produced Studebakers and Austins.

Originally established a year after the end of World War II, the facility soon expanded from the Beetle to the T1 in 1955, the same year Austin production ended.

While Studebakers would continue until 1965, two years before the marque’s eventual demise, by 1956, the plant had become a Volkswagen centric hub with the 25 000th model rolling out of the plant on 21 January 1959.

By 1966, SAMAD had been rebranded as Volkswagen South Africa, three years after the production of the 100 000^th vehicle, and two before local production of the very first Audi, the 90 Super.

The rest as they say is history and in celebration of its 70^th anniversary, the selection of vehicles had been provided for us to drive on a scenic outing that started in Port Elizabeth, wandered along the coast and some of the backroads, before ending at the People’s Pavilion on the outskirts of the factory in Uitenhage.

And we did it in…

Knowing the desires of frankly everyone wanting to sample either the GTi or the S4, the vehicle selection was done by drawing the name from a bag instead of a hat. As it turned out, neither performance model’s name stood on the name tag I eventually drew.

Instead, the journey from the Friendly City to the Home of Volkswagen was to be conducted in the Jetta with its 51 kW carburettor-fed 1.5-litre engine paired to a three-speed auto ‘box.

Donated to the AutoPavilion museum located outside the factory gates in 2013, the Jetta still sported its original AM/FM radio and still looked fresh despite being 40 years old.

Driving in convoy, the trip certainly made for an impressive sight as the trio of Beetles led away while our Jetta occupied a position near the rear.

Before leaving, we were told to take it easy and expect a few rates given the vehicle’s age, though our steed only started emitting unpleasant noises above 80 km/h. In fact, the drive was a pleasant one with the seats being remarkably comfortable and the automatic transmission impressively slick despite its three ratios.

What could have been?

Having evoked a great deal of nostalgia and possibly also intrigue from many locals, our rendezvous at the People’s Pavilion also had its own share of interest. Providing the highlight was an eye-catching, highly modified CitiGolf.

The work of a number of students at Volkswagen, the one of one concept features the same 1.8-litre turbocharged 20-valve engine as the original Audi TT, albeit with power raised to 200 kW and drive going to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

Arguably the most fascinating though is Project 1021, a two-door 44 kW Beetle based station wagon that could well have predated the Touareg by three decades as Volkswagen’s first SUV had it not been cancelled in 1978 as a result of the Golf’s arrival.

As is happened though, only four were ever made; two bakkies and the two station wagons with the former pair reportedly having been scrapped.

Of the two wagons, the exhibited one resides in the AutoPavilion while the second, a gold example seen by this writer in the flesh almost 20 years ago during his formative years in nearby Despatch, belongs to private unnamed owner.

The future

Contrasting the past, the future also showed itself in the guise of the ID.3, while the soon-to-be-present also debuted in the shape of the updated Polo that will enter production next year.

Tracking the greats

While neither could be sampled, the various heritage models could be experienced at the nearby test track with its long one kilometre straight. Of the models sampled, the S4 certainly rated as the standout.

By modern standards, the 169 kW developed by the 2.2-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine is still impressive. Discreet in a typical Q-car fashion, progress was velvety smooth and the six-speed manual gearbox, a novelty at the time, slick with the main drawing card being the planted feel at speed thanks to the quattro all-wheel-drive system.

A personal highlight was the CitiGolf. Having never driven or even owned one, the chance to finally experience one from behind the wheel only cemented why it had become a local icon.

Born out of the Mk I, the famous blue, red and yellow Citi filled the gap underneath the new, bigger Mk II Golf as a decision had been taken not to offer the Polo locally.

At the same time, the intended replacement for the Mk I, called the Econo.Golf, was deemed unacceptable despite a prototype existing by 1982. Two years later however, the grey only Econo.Golf was no more and in its place, the Citi that would last for 25 years and sell 377 484 units.

The subject of Volkswagen historian John Lemon’s extensive book, Re:in:car:nation, of which this writer is privileged to have a copy, the CitiGolf Sport, despite the long throw five-speed ‘box, felt easy to drive with more than enough pep form the 1.6-litre carb-fed engine and a good dose of simplicity that still makes its popular today.

A drive in the achingly pretty and still comfortable Audi 100 Coupe S, albeit from the passenger seat, rounded the drive off with my experience of the GTi, sadly, being blunted as a result of a misfire that had crept in due to possible unwarranted hard treatment throughout the day.

Conclusion

It had however been an incredible experience overall to sample 70 years of innovation, progress and South African prowess from a marque that has become part of our landscape and heritage right from the Beetle to the Polo and of course the Polo Vivo.