It was August 8th, 1974, when Reinhold Rupperath, known to many simply as ‘GTI Ruppi’, got his first Golf. He still remembers the day very well. The now 77-year-old has been driving the Golf ever since – and the Golf GTI without exception since 1978. ‘The Golf was the logical consequence of the Beetle,’ he says. The entire package had to be right, along with the costs. And since I am not the kind of man who suddenly feels compelled to do something new, the Golf is the right car for me.’
‘The Golf is just right’
We present people who drive the Golf. Personal stories of life with the automotive icon. In the fifth part, Reinhold Rupperath from Effelsberg, Germany presents his Golf V GTI.
Reinhold Rupperath has been driving the Golf since 1974 – and the Golf GTI since 1978
When Reinhold is asked which adjective he would use to describe his Tornado Red Golf V GTI, it is little wonder he swiftly replies ‘befitting’. He is even faster as he accelerates in his Mk V GTI and that is saying something. Since he picked it up from Wolfsburg as a new car back in 2005, Reinhold has done just 66,000 kilometres in the red racer, which gets 200 horsepower out of its 2.0 FSI Turbo engine and achieves a top speed of 235 km/h. ‘It was a late Christmas present to myself, ordered on 27 December 2004,’ says Reinhold with a grin.
‘GTI Ruppi’: Reinhold owns several GTIs across the various generations – along with a Polo G40
As is often the case, of course, it was his father who also shaped events in his life. In a fascinating mix: on the one hand, his dad had been making pilgrimages to the nearby Nürburgring since the 1920s, witnessing racing greats such as Rudolf Caracciola and Bernd Rosemeyer and relishing every lap. And on the other hand, he drove the Beetle his entire life and said to me: ‘Son, buy yourself something sensible.’
And since Reinhold saw the tried-and-tested Beetle traditions of robustness and reliability in the Golf, with the added sporty element, he has been driving the Golf GTI ever since. ‘Even as a “hot” Golf, it is still a classless car – a Porsche is stylish, but it isn’t the right car for me. I am a bit of an ordinary Joe in that respect.’
Reinhold now owns several GTIs across the various generations, including two of the now highly coveted ‘Pirelli’ GTIs and a Golf II GTI 16V. ‘With the KR engine, Hartmann exhaust system and the full Koni chassis suspension,’ he says off pat. ‘It always stays in the garage in winter.’
Robust, reliable and sporty: the Golf V GTI
GTI 16V: Reinhold has the formula for a real adrenaline rush
In return, the Golf II GTI 16V has to hit the road in summer, including trips to Wörthersee in Austria, venue of the legendary GTI Meet. ‘I only missed the first year, but I have travelled to every single GTI Meet since!’ The 16V now has 200,000 kilometres on the clock, although you wouldn’t know it from the highly polished paintwork on the GTI Mk II.
‘There’s mine’: Reinhold was at the Wörthersee GTI Meet in 1986
Reinhold generally always maintains the right balance between speed and savvy. ‘I am not a fan of tuning and I wouldn’t exactly call myself a racer. But when the A48 is empty at night, you can really put your foot down!’ laughs the adept GTI driver, who waxes lyrical about ‘good wheel– tyre combinations’, while taking the corners on the winding roads of his native Eifel region in his red Golf Mk V with precision and routine. Smooth and confident, expert and experienced. ‘Wonderful! That’s the GTI. That’s the Golf.’ There is nothing more to add to that.
