Volkswagen puts its iconic Gol out to pasture in Brazil

The Volkswagen Gol, an icon among Brazilian automobiles and the market’s biggest seller for 27 years, will be taken off the production line to meet the car industry’s new safety and environmental demands. 

First manufactured by Volkswagen Brasil in 1980 as the brand’s entry-level car, the Gol appeared to be doomed right from the start. According to automobile magazine Quatro Rodas, the Gol incorporated all of the elements and features that Volkswagen headquarters in Germany had rejected for the highly successful Golf in Europe.

Visually, it was well received by Brazilian consumers, with its design subsequently being imitated by rival manufacturers. But the choice of the 1.3-liter air-cooled engine taken from the Volkswagen Beetle (known in Brazil as the Volkswagen Fusca) was a strategic mistake, which nearly led to the model being discontinued shortly after release.

With just 50 horsepower, the old 1.3-liter engine left the nascent hatchback with a frankly pathetic performance, requiring over 30 seconds to reach a speed of 100 kilometers an hour. The noise was also a troubling factor — the grumbling engine was arguably part of the charm of the VW Beetle or the Kombi minivan, but it did not belong in a modern automobile project such as the Gol.

It was only in 1984 that the new GT model marked the switch to a water-cooled engine, with a 1.8-liter engine and 99 horsepower. 0 to 100 km/h was cut down to just over 10 seconds, making the Gol the most sold automobile in Brazil between 1987 and 2013.

The...