Johannesburg - Among the 'invited guests' at the 2014 Classic Car Show, to be held in association with Rolling Thunder at the Johannesburg Exhibition Centre, Nasrec, on Sunday 7 December, will be a gaggle of Volkswagen Golf hatchbacks.
The VW Golf is the most modified and tuned car on South African roads and Golfs of all generations, from the original Giorgetto Giugiaro design of 1974 to the current seventh-generation version, will feature in the special Street Machine section of the show.
The favourite of VW customisers and tuners is the CitiGolf, a slightly updated version of Giugiaro's Mk1 (which is now a cult car all over the world) that was built in South Africa for the domestic market only from 1984 - a year after the MkI was replaced by the Jumbo Golf - until as recently as 2009.
So ubiquitous is the modded CitiGolf that a particular 'classic' style has developed among VW enthusiasts. Since the CitiGolf was only ever produced as a five-door hatch and a fundamental difference in the shape and position of the B pillar prevents modifying a five-door into a three-door, it's important that a custom 'Dub' must be based on a three-door CitiGolf shell - the car that never existed.
That's done by stripping down a pre-1983, three-door Golf and replacing the bolted-on front wings, grille, bonnet and bumpers with original CitiGolf or aftermarket components. Depending on how straight the original shell is after more than 30 years on the road, it's not as difficult as it sounds - but it will be understood that three-door Golf Mk1 bodies in reasonable condition are now much sought after.
HIGH-POWERED AMPS
For maximum street cred the car should be lowered as far as possible, with oversize alloy rims, either polished or (increasingly) finished in matte black; the grille should also be either painted black or an aftermarket, black plastic replacement.
The boot is always full of high-powered amplifiers, pre-amps, bass amps and equalisers, and the parcel tray above it is carved out for two enormous bass speakers.
It's of interest to note that sound quality is of absolutely no interest whatsoever to car customisers; all that matters is the sheer volume of noise emanating from the back of the vehicle, measured by the same type of dB meter the cops use to check exhaust noise.
Beyond that, the style, trim, colours and materials used to create the interior are limited only by the imagination of the customiser; a 'VeeDub Club' parade may look strangely conformist as the cars roll past you, but when parked on display the sheer inventiveness of their owners will astonish you.
The Mk II or 'Jumbo' Golf, noticeably larger than the original and with more rounded edges, replaced the Mk I in 1983 in Europe and in 1984 in South Africa.
DISTINCTLY RORTY 16-VALVE
It was an altogether more sophisticated vehicle, with significantly better handling and road-holding; the flagship GTi version is prized today as the most complete GTi of them all and the high-revving, distinctly rorty 16-valve version introduced in 1986 remains one of the Holy Grails of Golf collectability.
The 1991 Mk III was heavier and slower, and generally not prized at all, with one important exception. To mollify critics of the now slower GTi, Volkswagen introduced the VR6, blessed with a 2.8-litre narrow-angle V6 that had its cylinders under a common cylinder head a la Lancia and was good for 128kW and 240Nm.
VR6s can still be heard roaring around the suburbs late at night, with a special air-filter cone giving full voice to that wonderful, hard-sucking induction system.
The Golf IV nudged the GTi legend back on track in 1997 with a 1.8-litre turbo - especially the special-edition 132kW version which came late in the model's life-span - and six years later the Golf V GTi won over a whole new generation of 'hot hatch' fans with its 147kW two-litre TFSI turbo engine and sophisticated running gear, that combined impressive road-holding with spouse-pleasing comfort.
VISUAL TUNING AIDS
That tradition continues with the Golf 6 and current Golf 7 models, although die-hard performance fans are still catered for with the all-wheel drive R versions, boasting 191 and 221kW respectively.
With the advent of the turbocharged Golf GTi the tuners went to town, and at Nasrec on 7 December you'll see - and hear - Golfs with power outputs of more than 250kW, with a whole host of visual tuning aids such as wings, spoilers, custom bonnets, interior gauge kits and the like - not to mention a vast array of huge-diameter alloy rims, adding eye candy to what was and remains an already attractive package.
The Golfs will be sharing space with some hot Hondas, Toyotas, BMWs and Opels cars that have also captivated the Fast and Furious brigade, obsessed with making their street machines go faster and look cooler.
And, of course, there will be more than 1000 classic cars and motorcycles on display at the biggest classic car event in Gauteng, featuring hot rods, muscle-cars, vintage cars, supercars, motorcycles, Harley-Davidsons and turbo cars as well as a Show & Shine competition, a Sound-Off competition (see above, and don't say we didn't warn you), dyno runs, spinning and drifting.
As in previous years, the Classic Car Show will be a family event with a variety of food, including Halaal, on offer, a beer garden, flea market, children's entertainment, live music and helicopter rides at R150 per person.
Entry is free for the driver and one passenger in a classic car or street machine or on a motorcycle, while spectators will pay a modest entry fee.