Miguel Sánchez
In one way or another, sportsmanship in the series ranges is usually linked to the existence of a racing department in the brand. So things, the lessons learned in the circuits revert to the commercial designs, also creating a powerful performance image as an advertising campaign.
In this way, from popular brands such as Peugeot to others as exclusive as Ferrari, racing and production chains have formed an essential pairing since the seminal stage of motorsport.
However, there are always exceptions. In this sense, possibly the most striking is the one played by Lamborghini. Scrupulously away from the circuits beyond monobrand cups or some other participation in F1, the Sant'Agata Bolognese factory has never wanted to test its potential in competition.
Something, truly, strange and questionable. Even more so when even much more popular brands have put their series models on the starting grids.
At this point, it is difficult not to think about what was the sporting career of the Volkswagen Golf GTI. Undoubtedly, one of the most popular compact compacts in the history of motorsports, responsible for define a whole new market niche since its appearance in 1976. And, if until the end of the sixties sportiness was a concept linked to the most exclusive ranges, at the beginning of the seventies it was already in full democratization.
All this thanks to the mixture of engines with nerve and popular bases. Thus making models as vibrant as they are suitable for everyday life available to the social majority. This being the case, after Gordini's preparations on Renault models or the existence of the Simca 1000 Rallye European manufacturers got down to work creating more and better sports compacts. A fully established process thanks to the launch of the Volkswagen Golf, with a sober but appropriate and effective design in each and every one of its sections.
What's more, aware of making its way in popular sports car racing, Volkswagen decided to use the Golf GTI in various sporting events. In fact, in 1977 the VW Junior Cup appeared. Organized by the brand itself, it brought together a multitude of pilots in what acquired traces of a promotion formula with ten races per year.
What's more, just a year later the VW Golf GTI Cup appeared. One of the most remembered single-brand cups in the history of Germany, serving as a quarry for various DTM promises.
In fact, its success was such that its disappearance was not due to poor results but due to its replacement in 1982 by the Volkswagen Polo Cup. By the way, which also had a Spanish edition since 1986. Year in which SEAT Sport - recently promoted by Volkswagen after the definitive abandonment of FIAT as a technological partner of the Spanish house - launched various sports initiatives as an advertising campaign for SEAT, Volkswagen and Audi.
Likewise, Volkswagen's traditional presence in the US market led to the appearance of the Rabbit Cup. An excellent promotional formula for the model in that country. Where it managed to get a certain share of sales thanks to its mix of power, lightness and practicality for day-to-day use in the city. Of course, reviewing the participation of the Volkswagen Golf in the races we have to wait until the eighties in order to find what is surely its best version.
We are talking about the Golf II Group A from 1986. Winner in its category within the World Rally Championship. Which premiered precisely that year said homologation. However, while that success certainly represented one of the tops of Volkswagen Motorsport, the truth is that during the eighties the presence of the Golf in races was less than that given in the seventies. Something paced by the GTI's own history in dealerships, with more than a quarter of its total sales awarded to the first generation of it.
Photos: Volkswagen Motorsport
