The first Golf began production in 1974, although it was marketed in the United States and Canada from 1975 to 1984 as the Volkswagen Rabbit and in Mexico as the Volkswagen Caribe. It was a water-cooled, front wheel drive design in a hatchback body style. It featured firmly sprung and damped independent Macpherson strut front suspension and semi-independent Twist-beam rear suspension, that gave crisp handling and good roadholding, without being too uncomfortable. The Golf was Brazilan Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year for 1976 and Irish Semperit Irish Car of the Year for 1978 and British What Car? magazine’s Car of the Year for 1981. The Golf was designed by Italian automobile architect / designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, of the ItalDesign design studio. Giugiaro had also designed the Alfasud and the Lotus Esprit Mk1.
There was a minor facelift in 1980 which saw the adoption of larger rear lamp clusters (more in line with Giugiaro’s original concepts), moulded black plastic bumpers, a new dashboard with a more modern-looking instrument display featuring LED warning lights, and for US versions rectangular headlights, this was the last major update before the arrival of the Mark 2 in 1983.
However, air conditioning became available as an option on the domestic market in August 1975. BMW E30 320i, BMW 325i E30 and another BMW 325i E30..When a man who believed in the benchmark BMW brand all his life decides to own a VW Mk1, you just have to ask WHY?. To which his answer was…
“I’ve always wanted a VW Golf built by Richie from Dubsport Performance.”
It just goes to show the respect the man has for who he believes is the most talented VW mechanic in KZN, so much so that his Mk1 is set apart just because its fresh out of the notorious tuning giants with looks to suit the performance. Sendal chose to go the Vr6 turbocharged route on his Mk1 as opposed to the usual 2.0 16V turbo.
The build took 5 years to complete but worth every minute of the wait. Nicknamed Papa G its dressed in powder blue which contrasts well with the blazing red Vr6 engine bay. Fuel is injected to the heart via 6 1000cc Delfeez injectors. Riding on borbet wheels, the car is yet to set a time down the 400m stretch. If Sendal could drive his beast anywhere in the world he chooses to do it at Autobahn Germany.
Special thanks goes to my dad & brother Darryl for all their support they put into this car, Divan from North Coast Panelbeaters, Richie my good friend at Dubsport Performance for sticking with each other through good or bad times, Shaun from AE Performance for making sure the project was successful, Joey from Roselite Coach Tours for all the help making sure the car was ready & my wonderful girlfriend Samantha, the mother of our child Cayden for being behind my addiction for cars.
Lastly Harry & the Gas Magazine team for making KZN breathe again.. Hahaha Thanks for the compliment Sendal but you should thank the person reading this right now.. He/She is who we do it for.
