On 29 March 1974, VW's plant officially started production of the successor to the Beetle, marking the birth of what was to become a motoring legend.
The Golf turned out to be a massive success story for VW, having sold 35 million units globally since production started.
In 1974 the Golf was offered in two- and four-door guise, featuring a 300-litre luggage boot and a foldable rear bench, making it a practical small car.
Engine options included a 37kW 1.1-litre four-cylinder petrol unit and a 51kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol power plant.
Drive was sent to the front wheels via either a four-speed manual gearbox or an optional three-speed automatic transmission.
Unstoppable
After 31 months in production the Mk1 had already sold one million units and its success would continue in SA where the hatchback was launched in May 1978.
During the years after 1978 a number of variants were introduced into the model line-up, including a diesel version at the end of 1978 and the high performance 1 600cc Golf GTS with its matt black bumper, extra-wide radials, bib spoiler, four headlamps, GTS logo and stripes along the bottom of the doors and quarter panels.
In 1983, almost 10 years after being launched in Europe, the Golf Mk1 was replaced by a larger and more sophisticated second-generation model.
This paved the way for VW SA to retain the Golf Mk1 so as to maintain a presence in a segment which was about to be vacated by its successor, and so the concept of the Citi Golf was born, which turned out to be just as big a hit. VW is currently hard at work on the next generation, called the Golf 8.
Last year, Karlheinz Hell, Head of VW AG's Compact Series Group said, 'The next Golf will take VW into the era of fully connected vehicles with extended autonomous driving functions.
'It will have more software on board than ever before.
'It will always be online and its digital cockpit and assistance systems will be the benchmark in terms of connectivity and safety.'
SA Golf enthusiasts can expect the Golf 8 to arrive early in 2020.
