VOLKSWAGEN CLASSIC PRESENTS: Mission Maximum. RECORDS AND SUPERLATIVES FROM THE WORLD OF VOLKSWAGEN. Volkswagen Records. Editorial. Volkswagen Records. Contents. Peak 4 10 26 30 34 HIGHLIGHTS PRODUCTION RECORDS G-LADER RECORDS SMALL ECONOMY WOLF performance – Fast, far, frugal: World champion and Triple with Jochi Kleint: Around the world in Highlights from seven decades the records spanning 24 millionaire: saying thank the record-breaking 80 days: the Lupo 3L TDI two centuries you with limited editions Polo G40, Corrado G60 sets a world record of Volkswagen history. of the Beetle 1302 S and Golf syncro G60 in 2000 42 and Golf II When something is achieved, which surpasses all that has gone FACTS & FIGURES before it, the result is a record. When a company like Volkswagen looks back at its rich history, the past is littered with record-breaking performances. It gives Volkswagen Classic great pleasure to present a selection of these records and 12 38 44 remarkable superlatives. ID. R – RALLY LEGENDS VOLKSWAGEN PLANT THE RECORD HUNTER Deserts, distances, global Churning out records: “Faster, higher, stronger” – that is the motto of the Olympic Unique electric racer: 7.2 MILLION success: Volkswagen the traditional location Games. These are the words that motivate people to do their a record breaker on In 2015, Volkswagen’s Motorsport at the Dakar in Wolfsburg and a look very best, to go as far as possible, and to attempt the impossible. Pikes Peak, it’s back for own Currywurst set a Rally and in the World at the Middle Kingdom The original motto reads “Citius, altius, fortius“, whereby “fortius” more in summer 2019 new sales record Rally Championship can also be translated as “more courageous”. Some people have the courage required to explore new horizons – like developers, engineers and visionaries who, from a blank sheet of paper, will develop a fully-electric race car or aerodynamic research vehicles. Then you have the teams behind these projects, who give every- 16 48 52 56 thing to literally drive Volkswagen to the top and to achieve GLOBAL TEAM PLAYER ARVW ENDURANCE TEST TURBO POWER maximum performance on their continent and beyond. There are From Wolfsburg to Flying miles: an aero- From Alaska to Tierra del High-speed on the salt drivers who storm up Pikes Peak in the ID. R, before setting off Pacheco: the Volkswagen dynamic test vehicle in Fuego: an extraordinary flats: a 338.15-km/h in pursuit of new records. Men who take on the circular track in team is productive world record-breaking adventure for the Golf Guinness record on Nardò for 24 hours straight, or conquer the rally routes of this internationally form in 1980 in 1974 Lake Bonneville world. And let’s not forget the employees, who set, and repeatedly surpass, production records. And the enthusiasts, who passionately live out and preserve the Volkswagen values. They are all people who whole-heartedly and passionately achieve top performances for Volkswagen. Their commitment is the key ingredient to any record or superlative worth mentioning. 18 58 62 66 W12 NARDO SMVW SUPERLATIVE FANS CRAMMING That is what this booklet is all about. Extraordinary people, perform- Records by the dozen: World record for the Driven by passion: Budge up a bit: ances and vehicles from the diverse world of Volkswagen. From an experimental car with economy vehicle: the enthusiasts of the the people who love the fifties to the present day, from economy vehicle to the ID. R, a twelve-cylinder engine minimum consumption Grundmann Collection nothing more than to from Wolfsburg to Tierra del Fuego, from Jochi Kleint to Romain sets benchmarks in 2002 on three wheels in 1982 be squeezed into a Dumas. Chosen to show the record-breaking diversity. And by Volkswagen together no means complete – that would take far more than 68 pages. 2 3 Volkswagen Records. Spotlight: High Performance. Volkswagen Records. Spotlight: High Performance. 7:57.148 MINUTES New record on the toughest hill climb in the world – set by an electric race car BREATH-TAKING ALL-TIME RECORD Having developed a fully-electric race car, Volkswagen wasted little time in making history: Romain Dumas (F) guided the ID. R to victory at the “Pikes Peak International Hill Climb”, leaving the opposition and their conventional drive technology trailing in its wake. With the 500-kW (680-PS) single- seater prototype, Volkswagen not only broke the record for electric vehicles on 24 June 2018, but also the all-time record. 4 5 Volkswagen Records. Spotlight: High Performance. 1,000,000 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLES on 5 August 1955 ONE IN A MILLION FROM WOLFSBURG When the millionth Beetle rolled off the production line in Wolfsburg, it was noth ing short of a sensation during Germany’s economic miracle. The Volkswagen became the first German car ever to reach seven figures. 140,000 people celebrated the production record. The then General Director of the Volkswagen plant, Heinrich Nordhoff, inserted the final two screws personally. The millionth car was trans formed into a “Gold-Bug” with metallic gold paint and strass elements. 6 7 Volkswagen Records. Spotlight: High Performance. Volkswagen Records. Spotlight: High Performance. 0.99 L OVER 100 KM Average consumption of the 1L ONE WILL DO, THANKS On 15 April 2002, Volkswagen showed that the 1-litre car is by no means a utopian concept with its practical 1L prototype. Nippy, agile, with a cw value of 0.159 and with a top speed of 120 km/h, the “Cigar” impressed on its maiden voyage. The then Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG Ferdinand Piëch drove the 1-litre car from the company headquarters in Wolfsburg to the Volkswagen AGM in Hamburg, and set a new consumption record in the process: just 0.99 litres at an average speed of 75 km/h. 8 9 Volkswagen Records. Facts & Figures: Production. Volkswagen Records. Facts & Figures: Production. HISTORIC DELIVERY RECORD 2018 THE MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR IN THE HISTORY OF THE VOLKSWAGEN BRAND 1 September 2017 2 3 For the first time in the history of the Volkswagen With 111,111,111 Group, the magic one million mark is broken with VOLKSWAGEN The most successful models On 22 December 2010, the 111,111,111st 1.01 in Volkswagen history: Volkswagen in the world rolled from the 6.24 MILLION TIGUAN MILLION MILLION production line at the main plant in Wolfsburg. January 2019 global deliveries in the month of September. deliveries around the world, 2018 is the most Historic production milestone: in just eleven years, successful year in the company’s history. five million vehicles from the compact SUV range 1st place: Golf have rolled off the production line. (over 35 million) THE PASSAT IS THE BEST-SELLING 2nd place: Passat MID-SIZE MODEL IN THE WORLD 150 (over 29 million) 18 December 2018: more than 125MILLION GEARBOXES FROM KASSEL MILLION VOLKSWAGEN MILLION VEHICLES FROM WOLFSBURG 60MILLION ENGINES FROM SALZGITTER 18 May 2016 24 August 2017 5 June 2018 3rd place: Beetle The Volkswagen plant in Kassel builds Volkswagen has assembled exactly Volkswagen’s main plant in Wolfsburg 12 February 2019 (over 21.5 million) the 125 millionth gearbox. 150 million vehicles since production began has produced 45 million vehicles since the start The 60 millionth engine since production 29 roughly 72 years ago. of series production in December 1945. started 49 years ago is manufactured million Passat, eight generations of the car, at the Volkswagen plant in Salzgitter. have been sold so far across the world. No other location within the group has built more vehicles. GOLF AND BEETLE: 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 PRODUCTION RECORDS 5.8.1955 1962 1967 17.2.1972 27.10.1976 1982 24.6.1991 2000 25.6.2002 2007 2.2.2017 5.6.2018 One million Five million Ten million 15,007,034 One million Five million World title for 20 million Golf surpasses 25 million Three million Golf Most-manufactured Beetles Beetles Beetles Beetles: Golf Golf the Golf Cabriolet Golf the Beetle Golf from Saxony model at main plant in Volkswagen is Wolfsburg: the Golf, production world 15.5.1981 331,848 models: 21,517,415 Golf: with almost 19 million champion 20 million the Golf Cabriolet is the the Golf surpasses sold since production Beetles world’s most manu- the production of the started in 1974 factured cabriolet legendary Beetle, which was still being Second place: the The Golf Cabriolet takes built at Volkswagen Beetle, almost 12 mil- on this mantle from the de Mexico at the time lion models by 1975 Beetle Cabriolet 10 11 Volkswagen Records. ID. R Records. Volkswagen Records. ID. R Records. 1 2 A live wire with a thirst for records. In June 2018, the Volkswagen ID. R set new records at both 3 the iconic hill climb on Pikes Peak and at the “Goodwood Festival of Speed”. And the pursuit of records continues this summer, as the electric racer sets its sights on more accolades in 2019. Pikes Peak was merely the beginning. When Romain VISIONARY DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY Dumas guided the fully-electric ID. R to a new all- While Volkswagen Motorsport focussed on the time record of 7:57.148 minutes at the most famous chassis and drivetrain, the shape of the body­­‑ hill climb in the world on 24 June 2018, it heralded work was developed at Volkswagen Design. the start of a pursuit of a host of other international “Our task was to transfer the unmistakable records. On that particular summer’s day in the styling of the ID. family from production cars 1 Americans also call the hill US state of Colorado, Dumas also laid down the first to such an extreme and emotional race car,” climb on Pikes Peak the “Race to the Clouds”.