► Worthersee 2018 gallery
► All the best pics
► Plus what we spotted
The 37th annual GTI meet at Lake Wörthersee in Austria has been in full swing and CAR has been on the ground at one of the biggest GTI meets in the world.
Every year, GTI and even wider VW Group fans gather at the edge of the lake to show off their metal, party and enjoy a weekend of beer, currywurst and modified cars.
Scroll through our gallery below to see some of our highlights from the 2018 GTI meet…
VW’s hosting stage
The focal point of the show was the GTI stand, that showed off the full range of VW’s GTI range by the lakeside. It was also where regular chats with fans, members of GTI clubs would meet and motorsport legends like Hans-Joachim Stuck would hang around to greet fans.
Rocking out, Golf style
While the VW stand is temporary, there’s a permanent fixture at the site in the shape of this huge rock, with carvings made out to look like a classic Golf.
As usual, VW revealed something new
And this year it was the Golf GTI TCR concept – a punchier, derestricted hot hatch that’s confirmed for production at the end of 2018.
VW’s apprentices were out there, too
They showed off two new cars that the teams from Wolfsburg and Saxony respectively worked on – the GTI ‘Next Level’ and the Golf Estate TGI GMotion (Next Level pictured).
Four!
Golfs of all shapes and sizes were the main draw, many of them modified or refurbished.
But it wasn’t just Golf
Sciroccos, Corrados, Polos, even the odd Up were parked up in different locations.
Casting a wider net
Plenty of fans were very happy to show off their cars from within the wider VW Group remit, with Audi in particular being repped by Worthersee attendees.
Wheely weird
If you didn’t have crazy and massive alloys that were either polished to perfection or painted a zany colour, you weren’t doing it right.
There were some brand crossovers
Like this Audi A6 Allroad sporting a set of alloys lifted straight off a previous-generation Bentley Continental GT.
Freshly-caught tuners
There was an entire section reserved for official tuning companies involved with VW Group cars. Oettinger, for example, wheeled out its 503bhp 500R.
Slamming was all the rage
Like this T-Roc from Dotz. We also saw Tiguans devoid of any ground clearance and plenty of A6 Avants and Passats on lift kits.
Attendees have a sense of humour
…as illustrated by this Mk3 Golf GTI trailer, conveniently being towed by an actual Mk3 Golf GTI.
Or this schnapps bar nesled under the nose of this Beetle.
Or this rat rod of a Jetta.
One thing’s for sure – the GTI fandom runs deep
Worthersee felt like a proper community. We had a chat with racing legend and all-round good guy, Hans-Joachim Stuck, who told us ‘You’re not a GTI fan if you haven’t been to Wörthersee.’
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