Volkswagen Golf GLi Cabriolet

A masterpiece of industrial design, the 1974 VW Golf revolutionised the small car market and established a reputation which VW have traded on to this day.

At a time when BL was turning out stodgy shockers like the Morris Ital and the Allegro, here was a car of such precision and quality that it forced every other rival to raise their game or give up. Crisp, glassy and clean, it oozed a good taste and intelligence that made the Habitat generation go weak at the knees.

Pick of the crop was the Golf GTi, the archetypal ‘hot hatch’ which came out in 1976. Quick, nimble and beautifully made, it had a peppy 1.8-litre engine whose 112bhp could whisk it up to 60 in 8.3 seconds and keep it flying along at three figure speeds for hours on end without anything breaking or falling off.

If you couldn’t quite run to the GTi, the 1.6-litre GLi was the next best thing, especially as it was considerably cheaper to insure, let alone pay for in the fist place. As a further bonus it was available as the attractive Karmann built convertible as offered here. Unfortunately, as is so often the way with cars (and their owners!), the Golf lost its chiseled good looks and became increasingly big and lardy as time went on, the Mk2 version of 1984 beginning a trend towards obesity that has continued to this day.

This tidy red example has covered a shade under 123,000 miles from new and has been fitted with a K&N air filter and sports exhaust. A recent gearbox rebuild included the fitment of a new clutch and the folding roof was replaced just a few years ago.

Described by the vendor as being in good original condition, we are advised that there is a small rip to the driver’s seat. He adds that it drives well and is MOTd until June 2013. Altogether a nice bit of summer fun for less than the annual subscription to the local Golf Club.