Photo: Volkswagen
The Gol was one of Volkswagen's best-selling vehicle in Brazil for several years. It is ironic that it decided to end its career precisely during FIFA’s World Cup. While you may think that you could not care less about a car you have never bought, the Gol is the father of the Fox, an affordable sedan (and station wagon) sold in the U.S. and Canada from 1987 until 1993. Just watch “Batman Returns,” and you’ll see plenty of them being destroyed in Gotham City. In fiction or reality, your life may have been connected to it somehow.
Gol means Goal (score) in Portuguese. It was a clever way for Volkswagen to connect with Brazilians' love for soccer. It also prevented the company from using the name Golf, a sport that very few Brazilians practice. The German carmaker sold almost 9 million units in the 42 years in which it was produced, with more than 1 million cars sold in around 70 countries. Lately, it was not doing that well, which led Volkswagen to wonder if it was worth keeping a local project alive when it could sell a global project in Brazil.
Volkswagen claims that the Gol Last Edition is the most complete derivative the car ever had. That is not true, starting with the engine that powers it: the meek 1-liter MPI, which delivers only 62 kW (84 ps) and 101 Nm (74.5 pound-feet). What the German company thinks fans will value is how exclusive the vehicle will be.
Only 1,000 units will be made, and they will have special seats, special paints, and a numbered plate indicating which position among these thousand units the one you are looking at occupies. On the C-pillar on both sides of the car, a badge in the form of a soccer ball bring the model’s name right at the center.
The German carmaker will charge R$ 95,990 ($17,805 at the current exchange rate) for these last Gols. For that kind of money, you can buy a Polo TSI, which comes with a turbocharged engine in a more updated project. On the other hand, there is nothing as prone to becoming collection material as cheap as these Gol Last Edition units.
Volkswagen claims that the Gol Last Edition is the most complete derivative the car ever had. That is not true, starting with the engine that powers it: the meek 1-liter MPI, which delivers only 62 kW (84 ps) and 101 Nm (74.5 pound-feet). What the German company thinks fans will value is how exclusive the vehicle will be.
Only 1,000 units will be made, and they will have special seats, special paints, and a numbered plate indicating which position among these thousand units the one you are looking at occupies. On the C-pillar on both sides of the car, a badge in the form of a soccer ball bring the model’s name right at the center.
The German carmaker will charge R$ 95,990 ($17,805 at the current exchange rate) for these last Gols. For that kind of money, you can buy a Polo TSI, which comes with a turbocharged engine in a more updated project. On the other hand, there is nothing as prone to becoming collection material as cheap as these Gol Last Edition units.
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