Only true VW enthusiasts know about this high-performance version of the first-gen Golf, the French Mk1 Golf 16S.

Some called it ‘Rabbit,’ ‘Golog,’ or ‘Golfie,’ but whatever your preferred name, the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 was certainly an exceptional car that enjoyed overwhelming success and won plenty of hearts with its reliability and overall affordability. The Mk1 Golf was built with the impossible task of replacing the most manufactured car in the world, the Beetle. It was a different ball game, a major revolution, where Volkswagen switched from a rear-engined, air-cooled format to a front-engined, water-cooled, front-wheel-drive arrangement.

But the Golf turned into a sharp-handling fun machine, and its modestly-powered engines could push it along decently. With more than six million MK1s sold, you can argue that it was a successful project. Only true gearheads know about a high-performance version of the first-generation Golf, the Mk1 Golf 16S, a gallic performance gem with French roots. Here are things only true enthusiasts know about the Golf 16S.

By 1981, the Golf GTi’s run as the hot hatch leader faced stiff competition from able competitors like the Renault 5, Vauxhall Chevette HS, and Ford Escort XR3. There were widespread cries to produce a high-performance version of the Mk1 Golf GTI, but they fell on deaf ears of the powers that be at Volkswagen in Germany. VAG France wanted more power from the GTi to stay ahead of rivals.

After a meeting with VW engineers in Wolfsburg, they got to work, and their solution was this ultra-rare Golf GTi 16S.

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The car’s 16S nomenclature stands for ‘16 soupapes’, French for 16 valves. By 1981, the 1.8-liter engine was a year away, turbo conversions were unreliable, and Volkswagen was still a few years from unveiling their first 16-valve engine, which made its debut at the 1983 Frankfurt Show. So, VAG France had to turn to Oettinger, who had already made a 16-valve head.

The standard GTi was delivered from Wolfsburg to Oettinger, who conducted the powertrain surgery.

The Oettinger head conversion included hundreds of specialist parts. The original eight-valve 1588cc head was swapped with a light alloy 16-valve head. It was followed with double overhead camshafts, forged Mahle piston, 79.5 mm bore x 80 mm stroke, and balanced crankshaft and flywheel. They also added other parts that helped the German tuning masters increase the Mk1’s compression from 9.5 to 10.5:1.

Other notable parts included a 2-piece oil sump with windage tray, specific distributor, alternator pulley, and Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection.

The higher compression and power output were enough to make the Mk1 16S faster than the base Mk1. However, this was combined with a closer ratio gearbox and a beefier clutch to take the performance a notch higher. Oettinger reinforced the clutch so that it could cope with the additional power.

Additionally, the tuners went with Type FT gearbox with reinforced syncros on 2nd, 3rd, and 5th gears. It was accompanied by a 4,17 final drive, which helped increase performance.

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The Golf Mk1 16S had to look and drive like its new high-performance figures required. The 16S ride height was lowered by 0.4 inches, and it received a suspension upgrade to the spring, damper, and antiroll bar settings. A set of wider 6Jx14in ATS Cup alloy wheels, dressed in Pirelli’s Pb 185/60 VR-14 tires, were fitted as standard.

While the 16S remained largely similar to the stock GTi, there were visible external differences in the badging, the twin black exhaust pipes, the radio aerial at the back of the roof, and a slightly modified spoiler. Also, a unique front grille and a full BBS body kit with spoilers at front and rear, side skirts, and subtle arch extensions to round off the package.

Oettinger’s 16-valve tune saw the power increase from the base 110.5 horsepower to an impressive 136 horsepower, which assisted by the closer ratio gearbox propelled the 16S to a zero to 60mph launch in just 7.6 seconds and max out a 130-mph top speed. In comparison, the base Mk1 had a zero to 60 mph acceleration in 9 seconds and maxed out at 98mph.

The 16S was miles faster than the stock GTi. However, we have seen exciting Mk1 project cars with insane performance, like the 738 horsepower Lamborghini killer featured by auto evolution.

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The Golf GTI Mk1 had already had plenty of competition to deal with, including Renault’s Renault 5. In 1978 Renault released an even more remarkable version of the 5, the Renault 5 Turbo. It was made of lightweight alloy instead of steel, and the hood and fender flares were made from fiberglass. They also switched from a front engine front drive to a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive rally car. The result was one of Renault’s most successful rally cars and popular road-legal cars.

With the 16S upgrade, the Golf GTi Mk1 could now easily hold its own and top the 120mph top speed by the 158 horsepower-Renault.

Each Mk1 16S came with a $9k price tag, which was 50% more than you’d pay for the standard GTi model. The cars were sold via main agents and came with their brochures, parts lists, and workshop manuals.

Although the 16S wasn’t a huge leap from the GTi, it established new standards forcing rivals to work hard to match it, and in turn, making it a worthy car for the car-buying public to throw their hard-earned money at.

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Only about 1600 Golf GTi Mk1 16S were produced, exclusively for the French and Swiss market, and they shipped with only two-color options; Alpine White and Black Metallic. Today, survivors are hard to come by, making the model extremely rare, more so in the Black Metallic color trim with only a handful still functional. Perhaps this is what makes the GTi 16S a special car.

While the 16S is as genuine rare as you will find, there are plenty of mods you can perform on the original Volkswagen Golf Mk1 to get its performance to the 16S levels.

Bryan is a content marketer who works as a staff writer for HotCars.com where he covers a variety of topics, from the first Motorwagen to the latest Electric vehicles. A writer by day and a programmer by night. When he is not writing about cars, catch him tinkering with his old motorcycle.