Volkswagen Golf II GTI 165: black
The Volkswagen Golf Mk2 is a hatchback, the second generation of the Volkswagen Golf and the successor to the Volkswagen Golf Mk1.
It was Volkswagen’s highest volume seller from 1983 and ended in (German) production in late 1992, to be replaced by the Volkswagen Golf Mk3.
The Mk2 was larger than the Mk1; its wheelbase grew slightly (+ 75 mm (3.0 in)), as did exterior dimensions (length + 180 mm (7.1 in), width + 55 mm (2.2 in), height + 5 mm (0.2 in)). Weight was up accordingly by about 120 kg (260 lb). Exterior design, developed in-house by VW design director Schäfer, kept the general lines of its Giugiaro-designed predecessor, but was slightly more rounded.
All told, about 6.3 million second-generation Golfs were built.
GTI
The successful Golf GTI (or, in the US, simply “GTI”) was continued with the Mk2 as a sporty 3- or 5-door hatchback. Like late Mk1 GTIs, it featured a naturally aspirated Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injected 1,781 cc (1.8 L; 108.7 cu in) Inline-four engine developing 112 PS (82.4 kW; 110.5 hp).
In 1986 (1987 for North America) a Golf GTI 16V was introduced; here the 1.8 litre engine output was 139 PS (137 hp; 102 kW) at 6,100 rpm (or 129 metric horsepower (95 kW) for the catalyst version) and 168 newton-metres (124 lbf⋅ft) at 4,600 rpm of torque, the model was marked by discreet red-and-black “16V” badges front and rear.
US/Canadian GTIs were later equipped with 2.0, 16-valve engines, available in the Passat and Corrado outside North America. In 1990, like the Golf, the GTI was given a facelift, and the “Big Bumper” became standard on all GTIs. This was maintained through the rest of the Mk2 model era.
For the South African market, Volkswagen SA added a 2.0 8v engine in January 1992, the same engine which would go on to be used in the Mk3 model launched later that year.
