One of the pioneers of today's ubiquitous sport utility vehicles (SUV) was the Volkswagen Golf Country. It premiered at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1989, when it was still a study of an all-terrain Golf called the Montana. In 1990 it went into series production as Golf Country. The demand, however, was limited because the Golf Country was ahead of its time.
Despite the relatively small edition of only 7735 units, there were two special models in the one and a half years of production: the country all-rounder painted in "forest green", which was rather functional and simple in terms of equipment, and the chrome edition. The latter was classy all around, with cream-colored real leather interior and black paint, electrically operated Webasto folding roof and chrome-plated attachments. Only 558 units of the chrome model were delivered. Around 50 copies of the country were even more exclusive. The so-called Wolfsburg Edition had the GTI engine and was only given to employees.
The base, a Golf II Syncro CL, was manufactured in Wolfsburg. The vehicle then went to Steyr Daimler Puch, where it was upgraded: In Graz, the Golf received a subframe made of steel pipes, reinforced springs and an underbody protection made of steel, with the ground clearance increasing to a total of 18 centimeters. The car was also equipped with front and rear crash bars. The spare wheel got its place at the rear of the tailgate. In front of the hood, it was no longer the main headlights that shone, but also auxiliary and fog lights.
Today the Golf Country is a sought-after car for enthusiasts, to which a special exhibition at the Volkswagen Auto Museum is dedicated until February 7, 2016. The current continuation of the concept is the spacious and active Golf Alltrack.
(Ampnet / Sm)