In late 1974, five men subjected two spanking new Mk1 Golfs to a gruelling 30,000km drive from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego (see map below). Both cars survived the ordeal and in November 2016 they were re-united again for the first time at Wolfsburg’s AutoMuseum. Another good reason, we’d say, to enter our VIP Wolfsburg competition which ends on 31 December so you can get to see them in the flesh. Meanwhile, the photographer on the trip, Frank Müller-May, has just told his story of that incredible adventure in Volkswagen Magazine. Here’s some of the many remarkable moments…

Frank’s most vivid recollection from that trip over four decades ago – apart from the yellow of the Golf’s paintwork, we presume – was the beauty of the landscape. The Rocky Mountains, the shimmering steppes of Nevada and Chile, the Andean highlands in Peru and Bolivia, and the Pacific are all etched in his memory.

The journey took three months, with a Bay Window Bus trailing behind with supplies and spares. On board was journalist Fritz B Busch, two VW mechanics and two VW engineers. The roads, for the most part, were neither signposted or surfaced and together the team had to negotiate swamps, find suitable sleeping quarters and talk their way past border police.

The first part of the adventure took in the crucifying 2500km Alaskan Highway, the majority of which was covered with treacherous black ice. With no crash barriers, no gritting salt and often sheer drops, the Golf’s front-wheel drive was much appreciated.

Arriving in Dawson Creek, Canada’s endless coniferous forests, dangerous river crossings and white peaks were just as challenging.

Crossing into the United States, the team successfully negotiated the stunning Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks, drove close to the steep banks of the Grand Canyon and tested the Golf’s top end along the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Meanwhile, in Tuscon, Arizona they even got to meet real cowboys.

In Mexico, the team remarked on how every taxi was a Beetle and noticed that cleverly the front seat had been removed in order to accommodate the passengers’ luggage. Needless to say, the totally new Golf attracted huge crowds wherever it went…

The going suddenly got a lot tougher when they reached Guatemala. Killing heat, jungle and frequent skirmishes with vigilante border controls tested their metal to the full, until virtually impenetrable primeval forest swamps forced them to take the ferry to Colombia.

The going wasn’t much better when they got to South America, the steep road to Ecuador and the terrible conditions they encountered further slowed the team’s progress. Thankfully, the route through Peru was a lot easier, and some of the most picturesque of the whole trip.

They were badly in need of rest when the convoy reached Chile where they detoured to visit the impressive copper mine in Chuquicamata (below).

Nearing the end of their adventure, having negotiated the merciless roads of Argentina, the Golfs suffer their only real mechanical mishaps in the form of a holed exhaust, a slipped timing belt and a leaking fuel tank. Roadside repairs were swiftly carried out before the three cars boarded a boat to make the crossing between the Strait of Magellan to their final destination – Tierra del Fuego. The trip had taken a testing 94 days.

It’s incredible that the two Golfs made the trip, and even more of a miracle that both have survived to the present day given that Wolfsburg reckon there are only around 20 such Golfs still around from the 1974 era. But what’s even more miraculous, in our mind, is that the feat was also accomplished by the high-top Bay Window Bus, laden with essential supplies and presumably traversing the same unfriendly terrian. Now, it would be even more of a miracle if that also survived…

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage