VW Golf heaven: Wörthersee Treffen 2017

Every year, Volkswagen nuts from all over Europe pile into Reifnitz, on the shores of the Wörther See lake, to display their own cars and ogle everybody else’s.

This year was the 36^th Wörthersee Treffen (‘Treffen’ meaning ‘meet’). Officially it’s a celebration not just of the VW marque but of GTI and sporty models in particular, and it’s fair to say that some wild creations turn up, demonstrating yet again the massive creativity (if not always the taste) of true enthusiasts.

In the early days, Wörthersee was wholly non-corporate, but the growth of the event has made it a must-support event for the factory. Nowadays the VW Group is playing a more active role in shaping what goes on, trimming back the official presence of non-VW marques like Audi, Skoda and Seat. This year they used it as a platform to launch the new Up GTI. Predictably, owners of every VW Group brand pitched up anyway to join in the fun. Leather-wrapped A4 Cabrio, anyone?