Giorgio Giugiaro is considered the most influential car designer of the 20th century; many classics owe their iconic shape to the Italian. Here he tells us how the Beetle’s successor was created – and why even cars that we don’t find beautiful can be successful.
Signor Giugiaro, you have designed many cars in your long career. The VW Golf, however, is probably the model that came off the assembly line most often. Would you design the car like that again today?
The Golf I would no longer make sense today. Modern cars have to offer much more space and therefore require completely different dimensions. In addition, technical innovations have now greatly simplified the construction of cars, such as the production of windows or the production process in general. Therefore, it is difficult to draw comparisons between different eras. The Golf is the result of a special request from Volkswagen. I designed it according to the limitations placed on me, particularly the economic limitations that were in place at the time.
But let’s assume you were allowed to modify the Golf I, without restrictions, completely freely and as you wish: What would you do?