Volkswagen - Wolfsburg instead of Woerthersee - GTI meeting starts at VW headquarters
At the start of the three-day GTI Festival in Wolfsburg, thousands of fans arrived. "It's impressive who has come here with what cool stuff", said Markenchef Thomas Schäfer after a tour of the event grounds. According to the organizers, around 1,000 fans of the sporty Golf GTI came in their own Golf GTI and presented their vehicles next to the Volkswagen Arena. "That's spectacular, what a fan community the GTI has", Schäfer added.
Volkswagen relocated and renamed the traditional event from the canceled Wörthersee location to Wolfsburg as GTI-Fanfest. In addition to GTI enthusiasts with tuned vehicles, other car fans and families with children are also supposed to be addressed. Between the displayed vehicles, table soccer and bungee trampoline jumping will be offered.
Up to 35,000 visitors are expected
Several rally cars, special productions, and show cars that Volkswagen once designed specifically for the Wörthersee will be on display. According to plans, there will be a car parade with around 200 cars across the Volkswagen works grounds on Sunday. According to earlier statements, up to 35,000 visitors are expected for the three-day event. Volkswagen did not make any statements about the number of visitors on the first day when asked.
At the Wörthersee, where the GTI community had met annually since 1982 to admire tuned VW Golf, Polo, or Scirocco, there were sometimes up to 200,000 visitors. The Austrian community of Wörth at the lake then announced the end of the event in 2023 after more than 40 years. The event had pushed the limits of the community's capacity and no longer fit with sustainability efforts.
- The history of the GTI Festival is deeply rooted in the annual gatherings at the Wörthersee in Austria.
- Despite the relocation of GTI-Fanfest from Wörthersee to Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony, Germany, the automobile industry continues to showcase its love for the Golf GTI.
- The rebranded event, now held in Wolfsburg, attracts a diverse crowd, including fanatics of the automobile industry, families, and leisure-seekers.
- The automobile giant, Volkswagen, has a rich history with the Wörthersee, showcasing special productions and show cars tailored for the event in the past.
- Thomas Schäfer, the Markenchef of Volkswagen, expressed his awe at the enthusiastic GTI community, encountering thousands of fans with personalized Golf GTIs at the GTI-Fanfest.
- The success of this year's event in Wolfsburg, as well as previous gatherings at Wörthersee, echoes the massive following of the sporty Golf GTI, with up to 35,000 visitors anticipated for the three-day event.
- As a tribute to the long-standing tradition, Volkswagen is planning a car parade featuring around 200 vehicles across its Wolfsburg grounds on the final day of the GTI-Fanfest, reminiscing the historic Wörthersee Fanfest.
