Volkswagen Golf GTI (1976 - 1983) Car COBI 24663 – Action Town 1:35

MODEL VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI (1976-1983) | COBI 24663 

Building set of the first-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI model in canary yellow with the typical black stripes on both sides of the vehicle. The car features distinctive black bumpers and red edging around the front grille. The interior includes two front seats and a steering wheel. The building set is produced under official Volkswagen AG license.

Did you know that:

In 1974, six Volkswagen employees, including Anton Konrad, Volkswagen's press spokesman at the time, decided to create a sporty version of the Golf. None of them had received any official assignment to develop the Sport Golf, but Hermann Hablitzel, a member of the board responsible for technology, ensured that the project would not be discarded and that development would continue. The first prototypes appeared, and at the beginning of March 1975, Hablitzel officially presented the Sport Golf project. As a result, the originally secret Sport Golf became an official development project under the designation EA195.

In September of the same year, the VW Golf, now bearing the GTI designation, was presented at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt. The car received enormous media attention and was therefore introduced into series production in June 1976. The original plan was to produce only 5,000 units of this special product line in order to cover development costs and investments in production equipment. However, demand for the car was so high that a total of 462,000 units were eventually produced.

The first GTI models were equipped with a 1.6-liter engine and a four-speed manual transmission, which featured a simple design and provided lively acceleration. However, its disadvantages were higher noise levels and high engine speeds during motorway driving. Therefore, from 1980 onwards, a five-speed manual transmission became standard equipment.

The car was instantly recognizable thanks to its red grille frame with the GTI badge, checkered upholstery, or the gear lever knob shaped like a golf ball. Over the years, many modifications and improvements were introduced. The bumpers became larger, a sunroof option was added, as well as improved brakes, three-point seat belts, and the possibility of a four-door version in 1981. In 1983, the car manufacturer released the special GTI Pirelli series as a farewell to the first generation of the model. The main differences were the 1.8-liter engine and special 14" alloy wheels with P-shaped openings, along with four front headlights.

Today, the most valuable cars are the early production models with the 1.6 engine and four-speed gearbox, especially in Mars Red and Alpine White.

Technical specifications: 

• vehicle length - 3705 mm
• vehicle width - 1610 mm
• wheelbase - 2400 mm
• body type - three-door hatchback
• number of seats - 5
  
• front-wheel drive
• four-speed manual transmission
• engine 1588 cm³  8V 81kW
• maximum speed - 182 km/h
• fuel tank capacity - 40 l
• combined fuel consumption - 7.5-9 l/100kmcurb weight  810-830 kg

What Klaus Westrup from the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport wrote about the Golf GTI:

„...Externally, the most powerful Golf is remarkably understated. Unlike some competitors in its class, you have to look more closely to recognize its position in the speed hierarchy. It does have widened fenders, 175 mm wide tires and a large front spoiler, but all these elements – even though they were added to the body later – appear almost natural. If the basic standard Golf model had looked like this, the average Golf buyer probably would not have minded....“

About the COBI building set: 

• the COBI 24663 building set is made of 74 high-quality ABS pieces 
• Action Town collection in 1:35 scale
• pad printed - no stickers
• faithful detailing
• made in the EU
• compatible with other building block brands