Volkswagen has revealed a new event to celebrate its famous GTI moniker, weeks after it was announced the famous annual meeting at Wörthersee Lake had been abolished.
The firm will hold a new, officially endorsed event in Wolfsburg, home of the Volkswagen brand, which it says will bring the 41-year-old meet “into the future”.
“Our GTI fans are of great importance to Volkswagen and that’s why the exchange with them is very dear to us,” said Imelda Labbé, Volkswagen board member for sales and marketing.
“For this reason, after the GTI Meeting at Lake Wörthersee was unfortunately cancelled, we decided pretty quickly to offer the GTI fan community in Wolfsburg a new home for the event. When planning the event, we also want to take into account the ideas of the fans, because it should above all be a meeting for them”.
No date has been set for when the new event might be held, but Volkswagen confirmed it would be a continuation of the Wörthersee show.
The famous meet was previously used for stage shows and vehicle presentations, and Volkswagen says the new one will implement “many other interesting events and surprises for GTI enthusiasts.”
The annual Volkswagen GTI meet at Wörthersee lake in Austria was abolished as the borough of Maria Wörth wants to protect the climate and local ecosystem.
Held every year but not since 2019 because of Covid, the meet was first organised in 1982 as a mecca for fans of GTI – Volkswagen’s performance moniker, which first appeared on the Volkswagen Golf in 1974.
The meeting was officially sponsored by Volkswagen from 2006 onwards. The German firm has previously showcased new models and concepts such as the Volkswagen T-Roc R, the Golf GTI and the record-breaking ID R prototype racer at the event.
It had long been rumoured that Volkswagen would showcase the long-awaited ID 2 GTI electric car concept at this year’s event.