Volkswagen Golf Mk2 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

for an overview of the generations, see: Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen Golf

The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...

The Volkswagen Golf Mk2 succeeded the Mk1

Volkswagen Golf Mk1

In May 1974, Volkswagen presented the first-generation Golf as a modern front-wheel-drive, hatchback replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle.-History:...

as Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

's volume seller from 1983 and remained in (German) production until late 1992. In comparison to its predecessor, its wheelbase grew slightly (+ 75 mm (3 in)), as did exterior dimensions (length + 180 mm (7.1 in), width + 55 mm (2.2 in), height + 5 mm (0.196850393700787 in)). Weight was up accordingly by about 120 kg (264.6 lb). Exterior design, developed in-house by VW design director Schäfer, kept the general lines of its Giugiaro

Giorgetto Giugiaro

Giorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today...

-designed predecessor, but was slightly more rounded. All told, about 6.3 million second-generation Golfs were built.

Model history

The second-generation Volkswagen Golf (also known as the Typ 19E until the 1991 model year, or Typ 1G thereafter) was launched in Europe at the Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

Motor Show in September 1983. It debuted in 1984 in the UK, and it was introduced as a 1985 model in the US. It featured a larger bodyshell, and a wider range of engine options, including a GTD turbodiesel

Turbodiesel

Turbodiesel refers to any diesel engine with a turbocharger. Turbocharging is the norm rather than the exception in modern car and truck diesel engines...

(in Euro markets, later using the 1.6 "umwelt" (ECO) diesel engine), a DOHC 1781 cc (1.8) 16-valve version of the straight-four GTI (as well as the tried and tested 1781cc (1.8) 8v GTI), the supercharged 8v "G60

G60

G60 refers to an inline-four cylinder automobile petrol engine, which uses a specific method of forced induction - by way of a specific type of supercharger...

" with front-

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...

and four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

options, and a racing homologated variant of this, the "Rallye Golf". This model was meant to come to the US as well (badged as "Rallye GTI"), and prototypes were made, but it did not come to be.

In 1985, British motoring magazine What Car?

What Car?

What Car? is a long-running UK monthly automobile magazine and website, currently edited by Steve Fowler and published by Haymarket Motoring. First published in 1973, it is intended primarily as a magazine for consumers rather than dedicated automobile enthusiasts...

awarded the Golf Mk2 1985 "Car of the Year

Car of the Year

Car of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best American automobile...

".

However, the Golf was overshadowed in the 1984 European Car of the Year

European Car of the Year

The European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto , Autocar , Autopista , Autovisie , L'Automobile Magazine , Stern and Vi Bilägare .The voting jury consists of motoring...

contest, finishing third but being heavily outscored by the victorious Fiat Uno

Fiat Uno

The Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...

and runner-up Peugeot 205

Peugeot 205

The Peugeot 205 is a supermini produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1983 and 1998. It was declared 'Car of the Decade' by CAR magazine in 1990. The 205 won 1984 What Car? car of the year.-History:...

.

During the life of the Golf 2, there were a number of external style revisions. Notable changes to the looks of the Golf 2 included the removal of quarterlight windows in the front doors, and the introduction of larger grill slats with the August 1987 facelift. The most notable was the introduction of so called "Big Bumpers", which were introduced in the European market with an August 1989 facelift. They were available in the US from August 1989 as well, as part of the "Wolfsburg Edition" package. They were not standardized until January, 1990.

This Golf was marketed for the first time with that name in the United States and Canada. The Rabbit name used on the Mk1

Volkswagen Golf Mk1

In May 1974, Volkswagen presented the first-generation Golf as a modern front-wheel-drive, hatchback replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle.-History:...

was meant to give a car a cuddly image, but with the eighties redesign of the car, Carl Hahn

Carl Hahn

Dr. Carl Horst Hahn is chairman emeritus of the automotive concern Volkswagen Group. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Management of the group's parent company, Volkswagen AG from 1982 to 1993...

, the former Volkswagen of America

Volkswagen of America

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. , is the North American operational headquarters, and subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group of automobile companies of Germany. VWoA is responsible for five marques: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Volkswagen cars. It also controls VW Credit, Inc...

president who was now chairman of the whole company, dictated that Volkswagen model names be standardised globally. James Fuller, head of the Volkswagen brand in North America, concurred in using the Golf name to stress the car's Teutonic

Germanic peoples

The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...

character. The GTI body kit became available on a non-injection Golf and was sold as the "Driver" trim level in Europe. While the GTI remained a trim level in the Golf lineup in Europe, in some markets, it was (and continues to be) marketed as a separate model line.

Volkswagen also produced their model in Yugoslavia, in a factory at Vogosca near Sarajevo, called Tvornica Automobila Sarajevo - TAS. The MK2 was produced from 1985 with a yearly production of 25,000 units until the war in 1990. This model was produced only for the six Yugoslav republics, with a rear badge Jx (which stands for less equipment than C and Cl), C and CL and TAS badge on the front grill. Engines were 1.3 (carburetor), 1.6 petrol and 1.6 diesel.

Models

The Golf Mk2 was available as a 3- and 5-door hatchback. Its sedan sister car (available as a 4- and a 2-door model) was again called Jetta. No cabriolet version was developed from the Mk2; instead, the Mk1-based convertible continued to be produced, with minor changes.

Trim levels included base, C, CL and GL and initially a range-topping Carat model (until 1986), later a GT (in 1987) version was also on offer. In North America, there was only a base model until 1986, in 1987 a GL and GT model, in 1988-1989, there was all three, and in 1990 until the end of its run there was again only a GL. The GTI model existed from 1985–1987, and again from 1990–1992, and the GTI 16v existed from 1987–1992. In Japan the range consisted of catalysed Ci/CLi/GLi models all sharing the same 1.6 or later 1.8 liter fuel-injected I4

Straight-4

The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....

engines. In the course of the years, a host of "limited edition" models appeared on various markets, distinguished by cosmetic changes and/or an enriched features list. Generally, these were option packages on top of a base "model" (CL, GL, etc.).

New base engine was a 1.05 litre inline four; other engine offerings included 1.3, 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrol fours and 1.6 litre naturally aspirated or turbocharged diesel engines. In North America, all Golf Mk2s had 1.8 liter petrol or 1.6 diesel engines (the GTI, while not a Golf model in North America, also had a 2.0 liter model).

Golf GTI & GTI 16v

The successful Golf GTI (or, in the USA, simply "GTI") was continued with the Mk2 as a sporty 3- or 5-door hatchback

Hatchback

A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...

. Like late Mk1 GTIs, it featured a fuel-injected 1.8 litre four developing 112 PS. In 1986 (1987 for North America) a Golf GTI 16V was introduced; here the 1.8 litre engine put out 139 PS (or 129 PS for the catalyst version) and the model was marked by discreet red and black "16v" badges front and rear. US/Canadian GTIs were later equipped with 2.0 16 valve-engines, available in the Passat and Corrado outside North America. In 1990, like the Golf, the GTI was given a facelift, and the "Big Bumper" became standard on all GTIs. This was maintained through the rest of the Mk2 model era. In 1990 the GTi G60 was also introduced featuring the 8v 1.8 with a G60 supercharger

G-Lader

The G-Lader is a scroll-type supercharger used in various Volkswagen Passenger Cars models. Its purpose is to increase the motive power output from the internal combustion engine attainable with a given engine displacement. Since it is not enough to simply inject more fuel, as this produces too...

this version is not to be confused with the very rare G60 Limited (see below).

Golf Syncro

In February 1986, Volkswagen

Volkswagen

presented the first Golf with four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

. This Golf Syncro was available with the 1.8 engine only (90 PS, later 98 PS). Its 4WD system had been developed in collaboration with Steyr-Daimler-Puch

Steyr-Daimler-Puch

Steyr-Daimler-Puch was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria, which was broken up in stages between 1987 and 2001. The component parts and operations continued to exist under separate ownership and new names.-History:...

of Austria, and featured a viscous coupling and flexible partition of torque between front and rear axle. Due to its high price (in 1986, a Syncro cost about 30% more than an equivalent front wheel drive model) the model remained rare; from 1986 to 1989, for instance, just 26,000 Syncros were built.

Rallye Golf

In 1989, the Rallye Golf appeared as a rallye "homologation

Homologation

Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...

special". Distinguishable by its box-flared wheel arches (similar to the Audi quattro, BMW E30 M3 and Lancia Delta Integrale) and rectangular projector headlamps, this model featured Syncro four-wheel drive, a cable shifted transmission and a G-supercharger

G-Lader

1763 cc (less than the typical 1.8L 1781 cc to meet the engine displacement rules) version of the injected 8 valve G60 1.8 liter engine.

5,000 cars were built in Volkswagen's Brussels, Belgium, plant, priced at about DM 50,000 each (or roughly twice as much as a base Golf GTI). The Rallye Golf has 161Bhp (118Kw).

None were officially sold in the USA. Two were brought over officially for testing and when the Pan-Am Lockerbie Scotland bombing occurred the Volkswagen of America (VWOA) official that was in favor of selling them died, so did the hope of the these being sold in the USA.

Golf Limited

Based on the Rallye Golf, a very limited edition Golf Mk2 variant exists, combining all of the high-line options available at the time. Designed and hand-built by the Volkswagen Motorsport division; only 71 of these "Golf Limited" models were produced. The exclusive feature package included a G60

G60

G60 refers to an inline-four cylinder automobile petrol engine, which uses a specific method of forced induction - by way of a specific type of supercharger...

supercharged version of the 16-valve GTI engine, mated to a sports transmission and Syncro four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

mechanism. All of these special edition models came in gunmetal grey, with four doors (except two built with three doors), BBS

BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG

BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG is a high performance automobile wheel design company headquartered in Schiltach, Germany. BBS serves North America through BBS of America, located in Braselton, Georgia, adjacent to the Road Atlanta Racetrak...

RM wheels in 6.5Jx15", US bumpers, a plain two-headlight grille with a unique blue detail, black VW logo, Hella

Hella (company)

Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. is an internationally operating German automotive part supplier with headquarters in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia. Core businesses are vehicle lighting and electronics systems and components. Hella is also involved in the areas of vehicle diagnostics and thermal...

tinted taillights, motorsport badges and a special numbered plaque. It is rumored that two examples were built with air conditioning. In 1989, these cars cost in the region of DM 68,500/each and were primarily sold to VAG

Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....

executives and management, although a few are known to exist in Britain as of 2005. These cars produced 210 PS 252 N·m (185.9 ft·lbf) and 0–100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 7.2 seconds, making them the most powerful VW Golfs ever produced until VW released the Mk4 R32 with 241 PS in 2003.

Golf Country

There was also a version called Golf Country (7,735 cars), designed for light off-road driving. It had more suspension travel, four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

, bullbars (generally over a single headlight grill), a skid plate

Skid plate

A skid plate is a steel plate affixed to the underside of a vehicle to prevent damage to key components in the undercarriage. Skid plates are most frequently found on four-wheel drive vehicles designed for off-road use...

for protecting the engine area, and a spare wheel mounted externally on the back.

In Europe, it was offered with the acclaimed 114 bhp 1.8 8v petrol engine. There were also: 160 "Country Allround"; 558 " Country - Chrompaket" with Chrome bullbars and beige leather interior; and 50 "Country GTI" for VW-staff. The Golf Country was particularly popular in Alpine regions in central Europe.

Golf Mk2 citySTROMer

In 1984 Volkswagen

Volkswagen

, in cooperation with RWE

RWE

RWE AG , is a German electric power and natural gas public utility company based in Essen. Through its various subsidiaries, the energy company contributes electricity and gas to more than 20 million electricity customers and 10 million gas customers, principally in Europe...

, released the second generation Gold citySTROMer, an electric version of the Mk2 Golf. It was the first electric Volkswagen to enter serial production as the Mk1 citySTROMER was only a prototype vehicle. The Mk2 citySTROMer had a range of approximately 31 mi (49.9 km) and used 16 gel-electrolyte batteries mounted under the cargo area and rear seats. Just 100 Mk2 citySTROMers were produced and sold for 45,000DM (~US$34,000) until production ceased in 1985. The citySTROMer name was continued in later models; the Jetta citySTROMer and the Mk3 Golf citySTROMer

Volkswagen Golf Mk3

The third-generation Volkswagen Golf Mk3 was a car launched in Europe in November 1991 , and in North America in the spring of 1993. The delay in North America was due to Volkswagen's decision to supply U.S. and Canadian dealerships with Mk3 Golfs from the VW plant in Puebla, Mexico...

North America

As with the North American

North American

North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...

Rabbit, the second-generation Golf was produced for North America in Pennsylvania. When sales in North America failed to live up to expectations and with increasing productions costs, the Westmoreland Assembly Plant

Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly Plant

The Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly Plant is a manufacturing plant formerly operated by Volkswagen of America , south of Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania near New Stanton. The complex manufactured 1.15 million vehicles from 1978 to 1988...

was closed in July 1988. Subsequent Golfs sold in North America came from the Puebla assembly plant, in Mexico. The Mk2 Golf was discontinued in Europe in 1991, but Mexican-made Mk2 models remained available in North America for another year.

In its first year on sale in North America, 1985, the Golf 2 maintained sealed-beam square headlights, while the GTI bore flush headlights (from the Jetta). All Golfs gained the flush "aerolamps" in 1987 after a design freshening to move it more upscale in the wake of the introduction of the Brazilian-built Fox (Voyage in Brazil) in North America. This is also the reasoning for the model being called "Golf GL", while virtually no equipment changes occurred. The 1985 U.S. models are easy to distinguish from subsequent models due to the absence of a high-mounted brakelight; these became required of all cars sold in the U.S. for 1986.

The GTI was Motor Trend
Motor Trend
Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tag line "The Magazine for a Motoring World". Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen...

magazine's Car of the Year

Car of the Year

Car of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best American automobile...

for 1985, as well as VWVortex's "Best Golf of all time". The Mk2 GTI failed to make the same waves as the Mk1

Volkswagen Golf Mk1

In May 1974, Volkswagen presented the first-generation Golf as a modern front-wheel-drive, hatchback replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle.-History:...

, and failed to win back the Golf GTI's fanbase which had adopted the Peugeot 205 GTI. In North America, where Peugeot did not sell the 205 in any guise, Volkswagen faced tough competition from the Honda Civic

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made and manufactured by Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded...

S (later Si).

In its first year on sale in the U.S., Golf sales were eight percent below those of the 1984 Rabbit. Sales of the all-new 1985 Jetta, by contrast, sky-rocketed compared with the 1984 model. In 1986, the Jetta became VW's bestseller in North America, a position it has held ever since.

As with the Mk1, there was a "warm hatch" version known as the Golf GT. Introduced in 1987, it featured the GTI's exterior styling, namely the red stripe exterior trim, and wheelarch spoilers but with a standard 1.8 L engine, available in an automatic and with 4 doors (unlike the GTI). It only lasted for a few years, but with the reintroduction of the GTI in 1989 (the GTI 16v was produced continuously from 1987–1992), this model bore the concept. Year by year, the GTI with the 8 valve engine lost its GTI-like features, getting standard Golf brakes in 1990, suspension in 1991, losing the MFA computer, and finally being optional with an automatic, a first in GTI history. All GTI models got the European quad-headlight grille with the upgrade to big bumpers in 1990.

A 2.0 litre engine producing 134 hp replaced the 1.8 in 1990 - 1992 North American 16V models. This version included 15" 2pc BBS

BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG

RM wheels. In the interior, the Recaro

Recaro

RECARO GmbH & Co. KG, commonly known as Recaro, is a German company based in Kirchheim unter Teck in the vicinity of Stuttgart, known for their automobile bucket seats...

seats no longer had vinyl bolsters of earlier GTIs.

Mexico (1987-1992)

The Golf Mk2 was introduced in Mexico in March 1987 to replace the successful Caribe (Golf Mk1)

Volkswagen Golf Mk1

In May 1974, Volkswagen presented the first-generation Golf as a modern front-wheel-drive, hatchback replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle.-History:...

. It was available with two variants of the 1.8lt engine: A 72 hp, and the 85 hp (previously used in the Caribe GT

Volkswagen Golf Mk1

In May 1974, Volkswagen presented the first-generation Golf as a modern front-wheel-drive, hatchback replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle.-History:...

, the Atlantic GLS

Volkswagen Jetta

Although the Golf had reached considerable success, in the North American markets, Volkswagen observed that the hatchback body style lacked some of the appeal to those who preferred the traditional three-box configuration...

and the Corsar

Volkswagen Passat

The Volkswagen Passat is a large family car marketed by Volkswagen Passenger Cars through six design generations since 1973. Between the Volkswagen Golf / Volkswagen Jetta and the Volkswagen Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up, the Passat and its derivatives have been badged variously as...

). It came in C, CL and GL trims, with a 4 speed manual gearbox for the "small" engine (C and CL), and 5 speed manual and optional 3 speed automatic

Automatic transmission

An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...

for the 85 hp version (GL). Tires for the C and CL were 155 SR 13, and P 175/70 R 13 for the GL. In 1988 the Golf received the same modifications as in Europe, but the nameplates (which changed for 1989). In 1989 a GTI version was introduced with a 105 hp "Digifant" fuel injected variant of the 1.8 lt engine without catalytic converter, rear drum brakes and vented front disc brakes, 14" alloy wheels and 5 speed manual

Manual transmission

A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...

gearbox. In 1990, the CL was discontinued and the C was renamed "Base" or "Minus". In 1991 the GL version received the "Big Bumpers" from the August 1989 European restyling. In 1990 the "Jubileo" limited edition based in the base model was introduced. It featured metallic light blue paint, and blue velour upholstery. In 1991 the "Eclipse" limited edition based on the 5 door GL version came to the market. It was available in Black or metallic Silver colors and Light grey with red stripes velour upholstery, this year, a 90 hp version of the 1.8 lt engine becomes the only engine available for the Golf. The Mexican Golf Mk2 was replaced in early 1992 by the Golf Mk3

Volkswagen Golf Mk3

Japan

In Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, all models were available as CLi and GLi, with the GTi edition also available.

United Kingdom

Sales in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

were strong; though it never quite made the top 10 for sales in any of the eight years in sale, it came close. In 1990, it was the UK's 12th most popular car with almost 50,000 sales. As of 2010, 18 years after the Mk2 Golf's demise, it is still a very common sight on British roads and is being recognized by many as a growing classic, quite unlike many other similar-sized cars of its generation, such as the Austin Maestro

Austin Maestro

The Austin Maestro is a compact-sized 5-door hatchback car that was produced from 1983 to 1994, initially by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and from 1988 onwards by its successor, Rover Group. The car was produced at the former Morris plant in Cowley, Oxford. It was initially...

External links

Golf at Volkswagen International

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Model history

Models

Golf GTI & GTI 16v

Golf Syncro

Rallye Golf

Golf Limited

Golf Country

Golf Mk2 citySTROMer

North America

Mexico (1987-1992)

Japan

United Kingdom

See also

External links