Volkswagen unveils special birthday balloon to celebrate 50 years of Golf [Photo Gallery]

Volkswagen has unveiled a special birthday balloon as part of its ongoing celebrations to mark 50 years of the Volkswagen Golf. The uniquely designed hot-air balloon launched just after 06:00 local time on Sunday (1 September), joining hundreds of balloons in the world-famous Cappadocia dawn skyline.

Flanked by an original Golf Mk I and the newly launched and significantly revised Golf Mk 8, the Sultan Series PH-370 balloon took to the skies above Love Valley, Cappadocia, with 16 passengers onboard and in full view of the thousands of tourists who gather in the region every morning to see the ‘bucket-list’ attraction.  

A small group of the world’s media will also be taking flights in the balloon during the course of the week, while also experiencing test drives of every generation of the Volkswagen Golf from the original Mk I, through to the new Mk 8 – all with a backdrop of birthday balloons.

Legendary designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, penned the original Golf Mk I design that debuted in 1974 – a model that has evolved over eight generations and over 50 years to become Volkswagen’s most successful car to date, with more than 37 million units sold globally. Few cars can claim to define their own model segment in the same way as Golf, let alone become the benchmark in that class while remaining true to the original styling and design philosophy.

Mike Orford, Head of PR and Communications at Volkswagen UK, said: “The Golf is celebrating a major milestone this year – a phenomenal 50 years of production. So what better way to celebrate such a significant moment than with a sky-full of giant birthday balloons?

“Very few manufacturers can claim to have such an iconic model that has evolved and innovated over eight generations, so we thought it was definitely something worth celebrating in style.”