2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 40th Anniversary Launches in Canada With 500-Unit Run
The 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 40th Anniversary Edition that was announced last fall is now arriving at Canadian Volkswagen dealers. While approximately 1,500 units were allocated to the U.S., about 500 will head north—a much larger proportion considering the size of the two markets.
As you probably know, the original Golf GTI launched in Europe back in 1976, but it took another seven years for a similar model to land in North America: the Rabbit GTI.
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Four decades later, the 2023 Golf GTI 40th Anniversary Edition is serving as a tribute with unique design details including “40” decals with honeycomb flourishes along the door sills. An illuminated bar on the front grille complements the signature GTI red stripe. A similar red line circles the 19-inch Scottsdale wheels in a gloss black finish. These alloys were previously seen on the European Golf GTI Clubsport 45 model, by the way.
Customers have a choice of four exterior colours starting with Oryx White Pearl and Pomelo Yellow Metallic. Urano Grey is unique to the 40th Anniversary Edition as is Tornado Red, a classic GTI shade that is mighty appropriate for this celebratory model. All four body colours beautifully contrast with the black-painted roof and gloss black mirror caps.
There’s not much to say about the interior other than a “40” badge replacing the “GTI” badge. This goes along with the traditional honeycomb accents, Scalepaper Plaid cloth seats and golf ball-inspired manual shift knob.
Unsurprisingly, Volkswagen made no modification to the turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, which delivers 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. It is offered with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG automatic transmission.
The 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 40th Anniversary Edition is available now with an MSRP of $36,995 for manual transmission models and $38,395 for DSG-equipped models. That’s $4,500 over the price of a standard Golf GTI, by the way, and there are no additional extras other than those listed above.