END OF ROAD FOR CITI AFTER 500 000 CARS

+ Click to Enlarge ONE IN A THOUSAND: Only 1000 Citi Mk1 commemorative models will be available to mark the end of Citi Golf production.

November 3, 2009

It had to happen eventually – after 31 years and 517 384 Golf 1's and Citi Golfs, production at VWSA's Uitenhage plant of Giorgetto Giugiaro's boxy little successor to the Beetle has finally come to an end.

VWSA is commemorating the original Golf 1 with a final, limited-edition (only 1000 examples) Citi, branded simply Citi Mk1, a fitting gesture to close the book on the South Africa's best selling hatch, a car that defied all the textbook theories on the lifecycle of a brand and will remain a marketing legend for decades.

The Citi Golf first appeared in 1984, six years after the Golf 1 was introduced in South Africa, as an entry-level offering following the introduction of the bigger and more expensive Golf 2 "Jumbo"

Since than Citi range has been refreshed and kept alive with special such as the Designa, CTI, Deco, Sonic, Wolf, Bafana Bafana, R Line, Xcite, Billabong, GTS and, finally, the Mk1.

The Mk1 has a 74kW, 1.6litre engine, 15" gunmetal-painted alloy rims, a polished tailpipe, dark tail lights, dual headlights, a chromed strip around the grille and GT-styled stripes in chromed foil down the sides.

The interior has sport seats with partial leather, leather steering wheel, the original golf ball gear knob, floor mats with Mk1 logo and red stitching detail.

The Mk1 will be available at R113 5000 in black and dark blue metallic and each will have its serial number - from 1 to 1000 - embossed on the passenger side of the fascia. The standard three-year or 100 000km Citi Golf warranty will apply and AutoMotion maintenance and service plans are optional.

END OF AN ERA

Two of the last Mk1'S will join other VW classics on permanent display at the Autostadt, the VW museum in Wolfsburg, Germany and at the VW AutoPavilion in Uitenhage.

It was an emotional day for the employees at VW in Uitenhage when the last Citi, Mk1 001, rolled off the production line to mark the official end of A1 production.

Thousands of employees attended a special event to bid farewell and pay tribute to the legend and the people who have been crafting the Golf 1 and Citi Golf by hand for more than 30 years.

A special Goodbye Tour will a start in Uitenhage on November 12 and and back there on November 29 with stops in Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. At each city or town where the Mk1 stops, the local public will be invited to sign the car.

ONLINE AUCTION

Citi fans can follow the route and daily activities on the Goodbye Citi website, with video footage and photos posted every day, and post their own farewell messages and tributes through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

Unit No.003 will be auctioned online from November 3-23. The reserve price will be R1 and the minimum bid increments are set at R100. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Ubuntu Education Fund in Port Elizabeth.

Bidding will be open worldwide but bids must be in South African rands and the car will be delivered to one address in South Africa.