For sale, a VW Golf GTD Mk1 in remarkable condition

Before getting caught flagrant cheating and to take a vow of total electrification to redeem a virginity, Volkswagen has been one of the great promoters of diesel. At the point of one day imagining that there was a market for some kind of Golf GTI, in economy version. That’s kind of how you can describe the VW Golf GTD, launched in 1982. Aesthetically, it was to be mistaken. Fender flares, four-headlight grille, sports steering wheel and golf ball-shaped gear knob, all the sporty attire was there. And even the chassis settings were close to those of the GTI. But of course the badge was different. The GTD announced the color: under the hood, there was a diesel engine.

TDI ancestor

Better than a diesel, it was one of the first engines turbodiesel to equip a car of this category. It allowed the 1.6 liter block to develop 70 hp (instead of the 54 hp of the simple Golf diesel). A power still quite far from the 112 hp of the Golf GTI of that time, but the GTD compensated with its torque of 133 Nm, which yielded only 20 Nm to the GTI, but which sent everything to only 1,500 rpm. In short, without being lightning fast, the VW Golf GTD still had enough to offer a certain driving pleasure. Clearly, these were the beginnings of the recipe for TDI enginesto whom VW owes decades of success and… its disgrace.

Impeccable

So it’s a VW Golf GTD that we found on the international car auction site Collecting Cars. She is from 1982, making it one of the very first ever produced. According to the site, it displays a little more than 121 000 km on the clock, and would have known only 4 owners, the first of whom kept the car until 2012. Each person who had the GTD in hand was apparently very scrupulous, since this example is “in its own juice”. Never restored, it remains in excellent conditionas seen in the pictures.

CV complet

In all transparency, the seller mentions a few small dents, gravel chips and other imperfections in the bodywork. Recent mechanical interventions are also listed, and the car is sold with a full service history. The key that kills: the Pioneer radio-cassette, perfectly vintage. This magnificent first generation VW Golf GTD is sold in Italy, where she has lived all her life. In our opinion, this is a bargain not to be missed. Because if an original Golf GTI is certainly more desirable, a GTD is infinitely plus rare Today. And yet, it is also infinitely cheaper.

Read also :

Volkswagen GTi: the electric revolution is preparing

Volkswagen ID.7: the “electric Passat” unveils its prices

Electrify France: Volkswagen launches a high-power charging network