THE GTI ALTERNATIVES

Car manufacturers have always played catch-up when a sudden new trend takes hold or when the car market shifts in a fresh direction. Four decades ago, it was the rapidly expanding hot hatch market that every major European car maker was focused on… and it’s easy to see why. From Volkswagen’s 1976 launch of the Golf GTI, with demand far exceeding supply from day one, rival manufacturers sought to transform their own front-wheel drive hatchbacks into modern-spec sportsters.

The mass-produced two-seater roadster was fast falling out of fashion, with a new generation of buyers attracted instead to sporty hatches with firmed-up suspension, extra performance and the usefulness of a back seat. The 1980s would see the biggest expansion of the hot hatch market, with versatile hatchbacks replacing traditional saloons and giving potential for ‘hot’ versions of most of them. Naturally, the UK’s market leader, Ford, wanted a slice of the action; and so when