ABOUT THE ORIGINAL CAR The Volkswagen Golf Mk1 is the first generation of a small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen. It was noteworthy for signalling Volkswagen's shift of its major car lines from rear-wheel drive and rear-mounted air-cooled engines to front-wheel drive with front-mounted, water-cooled engines that were often transversely-mounted. The first generation Golf debuted in Europe in May 1974 with styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign.