Today’s Feijoada Friday Samba Sunday is about a car that was so successfull that it was the best selling car for 27 years! Today at its 6th generation the VW Gol spanned a big family of cars, with a wagon version (the Parati, or Fox Wagon on US), a sedan (Voyage, or Fox on US) and an UTE (the Saveiro). It’s definately a part of the history of the Brazilian auto industry!
It was on the middle 70’s when VW decided they needed a new small car. The VW Brasília, launched in ‘73, was a success, but it started to lose grounds to the much more modern Fiat 147 and Chevrolet Chevette. Their line was entirely of air-cooled cars: Back at that time you could have a SP2, a Fusca, a Kombi, a Zé-do-Caixão, a Karmann-Ghia, a TL, a Brasília, a Variant... and a weird water cooled car called the Passat.
So, naturally, they thought about a new air cooled car. It would be easier to just buy the tools to make the Polo or the Golf here, but our roads were terrible and our drivers were used to the easy maintenance of the air cooled units. So, based on the structure of the first polo, and inspired by the EA-276 prototype for a small hatchback powered by a frontal air-cooled engine, the BX project began in 1976.
Although based on the Polo, the front end was inspired by the Scirocco, with the rear was a mélange of Polo, Golf and Scirocco. For naming it VW studied the name Angra with the public, but this is also the name of our only nuclear power plant. Knowing the Brazilian public, it was obvious that a car named after a nuclear power plant would be called a bomba (bomb, in english), a term we use like the lemon in english for bad cars. So, after a suggestion by Nehemias Vassão, a journalist, it was called the Gol. Brazilians love football, so Gol would be nice, and it fitted on the trend VW had of calling cars by sports names like Golf, Polo and Derby.
The engine was the 1,300 cc air cooled unit from a Fusca, installed longitudinally on the front. Since it was on the front receiving air from the grille, they could ditch the cooling fan, and the engine, without having to crank a heavy fan, gained some horses, passing from 38 cv to 42 cv.
And it wasn’t much time later, in 1980, that the Gol was introduced to our market. It had two trim levels: The Versão Básica (basic version) was the simpler one, and the L (probably from luxury) came with some more equipment. It was a very rational car: the well known simple 1,300cc engine, space for 5 people and a 380 liter trunk (that could reach 1200 liters if you folded the back seats).
You could have also AM radio and three-point belts as options. The gearbox was the same as the Fusca, with 4 gears, and you could squeeze almost 16 km per liter from the engine!
But you had to be patient. 0-60 times were a bit more than 18 seconds, and the car hadn’t any power whatsoever. It was heavier than the Beetle, and the single-carb 1,300cc engine wasn’t a very good choice. The Brasília, for example, was lighter and had a twin-carb 1,600cc engine!
And it had so much stability on the corners that the lack of power seemed even worse! The front suspension system used McPherson struts within a subchassis, the rear had a torsion bar, it came from the factory with radial tires and it had disc brakes on the front. There were so many critics that already in February 1981 it got a 1,600 cc engine with two carburettors.
The new engine completely transformed the car. 0-60 times were now some 15 seconds, the top speed was now 154 km/h and it used even less fuel, because you didn’t needed to drive it at high revs all the time anymore. The trim levels were rebadged S and LS too. At this same year the Voyage was launched, with the 1.5 l engine from the Passat, way quieter. The boxier lines also gave it a bit more headroom in the back.
The Voyage hadn’t much success here, but it was a hit everywhere else. It was the best selling car in Argentina, where it was called Gacel or Senda. It was sold on Peru, Guatemala and Chile as the Amazon and on the USA as the Fox.
Next year, in 1982 the hugely successful Parati was launched. It was just a Voyage with a greenhouse in the back, they had the same height and length. As Looking like a shooting brake, it was a three door wagon with no C pillar, it had a huge glass window for the rear passengers and cargo area. As a matter of fact, my daily driver is a 1995 VW Parati ;)
In September, 1982, VW discontinued the Brasilia, since the Gol family sold so well. Ford and Fiat had small pickup trucks (the Pampa and the Fiorino, wait for future episodes!), and they sold like popsicles in the summer, so VW decided to board this train too. At this month VW launched the Saveiro, nothing more than a VW Parati cut into an UTE. The Saveiro used a stronger 1,6l engine, still air cooled, to haul 570 kg.
In 1983 the Voyage gained the 4 door version, being the first VW car since the Zé-do-Caixão to have this option. Next year, with a strong 1,8 l engine, Recaro seats, German Golf GT camshaft and 99 cv Gol GT version debuted, quickly becoming an icon.
The Gol history is long, so it will be splitted in several chapters. It’ll continue with the Parati, the Voyage, the Saveiro and the Gol GTi. See you soon!
Bonus ads:
Space without frontiers.
A car for today times has to be free in the space. The Volkswagen Gol is free. Because it was born from a modern and intelligent idea, that unites the Brazilian Volkwswagen expertise with the most advanced european technology.
The engine put on the front part and the gas tank on the rear resulted on the most rational internal space utilization. In the VW Gol 5 adult persons travel without any problem with their legs, elbows and shoulders.
The doors, designed with the maximum opening angle, make it easy to go to the back seats. And, for making the best of this space, the seats are anatomical and comfortable, with adjustable and removable headrests on the front.
The VW Gol has a perfect system for recirculating the air: You drive leisurely and silently, because the thermoacoustic lining reduce the heat and noise to a minimum.
Now the huge trunk. Up to the backseats height you can fit 380 liters, and up to the roof, 500 liters. With the seats folded, 1,200 liters. It’s neverending space!
The back seat is foldable. You only need to fold it to make a smooth cargo area.
In the Volkswagen Gol there aren’t any space frontiers. Everything’s free, comfy, safe. The freedom is yours. Choose.
With the Gol you can lose your driver’s license in 11 seconds.
With 10.3 seconds you’re already at 80 km/h. Some more fractions of a second later and you’re breaking the law. It’s because the Gol 1.6 has an unmatched torque.
But it isn’t for breaking the law that it has all this torque. It is for you to get pwerformance without having to step hard on the gas pedal. But good performance with high mileage isn’t achieved only by exceptional torque. The aerodynamics is fundamental. So the Gol has a wedge shape that wins the air resistance naturally.
You step a bit and it accelerates a lot. With the Gol 1.6 you have total safety on overtakings, reaccelerations and when you need immediate responses from the engine.
If your family grew, don’t worry.
Voyage’s family grew too.
Voyage 2 doors. A car that can transform a simple home-work route into an emotional experience. Voyage 4 doors. Class and comfort with the safety of automatic locks on the rear doors. Voyage Parati (edu-petrolhead note - just called Parati) space for the family and all your stuff. Like all families, each one is different from the other. But the remarkable design traits are common to all: the agility, comfort, safety, the driving pleasure and the economy of the 1.6 torque-engine with alcohol or gasoline. With 2 gearbox options. So, if your needs changed, maybe you’ll need to change your car. But, happily, you don’t need to change the family. Voyage.
Just as a teaser...
The Gol GTS/GTi. Wait for a future episode!
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