WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The Mk1 Volkswagen that isn’t

“For me, it’s the most emotional, and maybe my favourite car,” Dino Pannhorst explains while standing next to this Anthracite-hued Golf Mk1. Usually, describing a non-GTI Golf as emotional would be quite a bold statement, but this example is not like the others. In fact it’s not really a Volkswagen at all: It’s a Porsche 928.

This slightly strange but alluring combination came to life in 1978, when Guenter Artz, the owner of a VW/Audi dealership in Hanover, took an accident-damaged 928 and mated it with the body style of the Golf, creating what came to be known as the ARTZ Golf 928. The garage widened the bodywork of the Golf approximately 21cm, and lengthened it to match the proportions of the underlying 928 chassis.

The wild proportions led to the glass being completely bespoke, along with the grille and all of the other body parts. The only thing left untouched are the doors and the interior, which was kept from the 928 donor car.

The engine is the original 928 unit, producing 260hp, as well as the original gearbox. Only one other ARTZ Golf exists, but this is the one that Dino searched for - it had been in his family once already.

The garage widened the bodywork of the Golf approximately 21cm, and lengthened it to match the proportions of the underlying 928 chassis.

“In 1980, my father and uncle decided to buy the car from Guenter Artz, and they owned and drove it for a couple of years,” Dino explains. “When I was a child I loved it. The sound was, and still is, breathtaking.”

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So, Dino, a few years older now, begun his search for the Golf, and finally came across it in 2014 where it lived as part of a collection in northern Germany. One year later and Dino could call the car his again, and brought it home: “I had to buy it back. I dreamt about the car since I was a kid. Because only two were built, nobody knows about this car. When you’re on the road with it, nobody looks at it. But then when they hear the sound, you get their attention - amazed glances from people looking for a sports car with a V8, but all they find is a Golf - with a V8!”