Volkswagen Golf GTi (1976)
The Golf GTi created the hot hatch genre overnight. The idea was simple - take a practical everyday car and give it a powerful performance engine. The resulting combination of practicality and racy performance was an instant hit. VW's original GTi only had a 1.6 litre, 108bhp powerplant; although it was one of the first to use fuel injection. That may not seem like a lot of grunt, but the Golf was small and lightweight so it was genuinely quick. Combined with its lithe handling, the GTi shocked the world as a budget rival to thoroughbred sports cars of its day.

Volkswagen Golf GTi | Top 20 sports racers