VW Golf and Rabbit: Books - History and Models

VW Golf Mk I - IV

NEW

In 1974, the Volkswagen Golf replaced the iconic Beetle, redefining the family hatchback. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, it featured a transverse engine for enhanced space.
Richard Copping's book delves into the Golf's global success, tracing its development and key design choices. It explores the Mk 2 (1983), Mk 3 (1991), and Mk IV (1997), highlighting design and engineering advancements like increased size, new engines, and the acclaimed GTi. The fourth-gen Golf introduced efficient diesel engines. Variants, including Jetta, Vento, and Bora, were pivotal in the US market.

Information

Author:	Richard Copping
Details:	96 pages, 23.5 x 16.5 cm / 9.25 x 6.5 in, paperback
Illustrations:	100 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Amberley Publishing (GB, 2023)
ISBN:	9781398113374

Thirty Years of the Volkswagen Golf & Rabbit

This book covers the fascinating transition from Beetle to Golf and the subsequent development of the car that became Volkswagen's new icon. Included are Volkswagen archival photographs of early development projects and details about the people who built these charismatic cars.

The story is more than facts and figures. It is an adventurous tale of a company whose future rested on the fenders of a hatchback economy car - a car that ultimately became a favorite of car enthusiasts around the world.

Information

Author:	Kevin Clemens
Details:	128 pages, 28 x 21.5 x 1 cm / 11 x 8.5 x 0.39 in, paperback
Illustrations:	130 b&w photos
Publisher:	Iconografix (USA, 2006)
ISBN:	9781583881583

VW Golf Cabriolet (1979-2002) - Brooklands Portfolio

Brooklands Portfolio book about the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet models from the years 1979-2002. Describes the VW Golf Cabriolet and Rabbit Convertible, GLi, GTi, TDi, Clipper, Avantgarde, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, Mk 1, Mk 3 and Mk 3.5.

• The articles, taken from contemporary British and American car magazines, provide much information about history, model changes and technology.
• Also driving impressions, tests, comparison tests, technical specifications, etc.

Information

Details:	160 pages, 28 x 21 x 1.1 cm / 11 x 8.25 x 0.43 in, paperback
Illustrations:	profusely illustrated
Publisher:	Brooklands Books (GB, 2010)
ISBN:	9781855209091

More information on the Brooklands Portfolio books

Volkswagen Golf - Les modèles depuis 1974

Since its creation in 1974, the Golf commissioned by Volkswagen from the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, has continued to delight lovers of quality mechanics, fans of recreational sports cars and all those who want to choose without making a mistake.

Through seven generations of Golf, this book revisits the history of one of the best-selling cars in the world: 35 million to date. This automotive icon has shone with its road qualities, but also seduced with its versatility. Indeed, the Golf is the only production car to have been at the same time an economical diesel, a 360 horsepower super-sports car, a convertible, a saloon, an estate, a 4x4... without ever losing its soul or its style for almost half a century.

Information

Author:	Benjamin Cuq
Details:	160 pages, 20.5 x 29.5 cm / 8.1 x 11.6 in, paperback
Illustrations:	numerous b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Editions E/P/A (F, 2019)
ISBN:	9782376710240

Volkswagen Golf 1 - Le vent du renouveau (Top Model)

In 1974, the Golf concentrated a high level of technology; quality safety features and undeniable practical aspects, with its two or four doors and its tailgate. The risk was measured for Wolfsburg, because all the technical part was taken from models that had already had their illnesses. The lines, designed by Giugiaro, were classic and dynamic, but did not offend the clientele.
Success was not long in coming. With the Golf, Volkswagen had finally entered the modern era with a bang. Its qualities quickly made the new kid on the block the number one in the C segment. It inspired the competition and would very quickly become the one to dethrone. Its image would seduce many markets. Available as a saloon with a trunk, it took the name Jetta.

The Golf having replaced the Beetle, it was normal to derive a convertible from it... Still produced by Karmann, this one has a fixed roll bar and provides space for the rear occupants. On the light utility side, the Golf also stands out, with a panel version then a pick-up that will outlive the three and five-door versions by almost ten years.
Versatile, the Golf transforms as easily into an accomplished sports car, the GTI, as into a champion of economy in performance, with its Diesel then turbo Diesel versions.

Over the years, the little Volkswagen has forged a "concrete" image that will only continue to last and grow from generation to generation. At a time when the Golf 1 and its derivatives are entering the world of collecting, it was essential to look at its rich history and offer the most complete synthesis possible.

Information

Author:	Dimitri Urbain
Details:	240 pages, 29 x 24 cm / 11.4 x 9 in, hardback
Illustrations:	624 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2015)
Series:	Top Model
ISBN:	9791028300517

VW Golf Story - Alle Generationen seit 1974

NEW

The VW Golf, initially awaited as the much-needed successor to the VW Beetle, became one of the most successful stories in the automotive world.
With its water-cooled front engine and new hatchback design, it quickly became a bestseller and defined the so-called "Golf class." To this day, the Golf remains one of the best-selling cars worldwide.

In this book, Russell Hayes narrates the story of the VW Golf from its beginnings to the present, providing a detailed introduction to all eight generations. This work honors this remarkable vehicle from Wolfsburg.

Information

Author:	Russell Hayes
Details:	320 pages, 27 x 23.5 x 2.3 cm / 10.6 x 9.25 x 0.91 in, hardback
Illustrations:	390 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2024)
ISBN:	9783613046429

Volkswagen Golf

A title in the historic Nada catalogue series, this time on the Volkswagen Golf, a cult car. The models under the microscope are the classics, those of the first series, including the variants like the Van, Caddy, Rabbit, Cabriolet and right through to the South African Golf Citi, which was a German first series Golf produced until just a few years ago.

The catalogue's layout is the traditional one, with period photographic material and an organisation of chapters on the different models - as well as a brief guide to restoring the cars and their critical points.

Text in Italian.

Information

Author:	Marco Batazzi
Details:	96 pages, 27 x 24.5 cm / 10.6 x 9.7 in, paperback
Illustrations:	76 b&w and 90 colour photos
Publisher:	Giorgio Nada Editore (IT, 2015)
Series:	Le vetture che hanno fatto la storia
ISBN:	9788879116145