GTI Fan Festival 2024 - Volkswagen celebrates the GTI with fans
Volkswagen reaches out to the fans. With the GTI Fan Festival on the weekend of July 26-28, the Wolfsburg-based company wants to deepen its ties with friends of the brand. The GTI Fan Festival is intended to be an alternative to the iconic GTI meeting at Lake Wörthersee, which has been the event for all VW drivers for decades. However, due to the corona-related shutdown, it was unable to regain its former glory and was no longer politically desirable.
True to the motto “Icons Coming Home”, the Wolfsburg-based company will be hosting the GTI fan festival around the Volkswagen Arena, providing an alternative to the GTI meeting at Wörthersee. The program highlights will include stage shows, vehicle presentations on the “red carpet” and various club meetings. Numerous activities and surprises are also planned for Volkswagen and GTI fans. But families will also get their money's worth here. Over a total of three days, the organizers will transform the area around the Volkswagen Arena into a “GTI Fan City”. Over 700 GTI and R-brand performance model owners are expected to share their personal stories.
Also announced: Prominent GTI fans, such as Volkswagen Head of Design Andreas Mindt and motorsport and VW test drivers Benny Leuchter, Strietzel Stuck and Jochi Kleint (driver of the Golf 2 Pike Peak), will be on hand to share their personal GTI stories with fans in expert talks. Sarah Elsser and YouTuber and tuner Philipp Kaess will be on stage in Wolfsburg as presenters.
Numerous GTI models from Wolfsburg will also be on display around the VfL Wolfsburg stadium. These include GTI models from all eight Golf generations, Lupo, Polo and even the Up! GTI. But the new generation performance models will also be on display in the form of the sporty GTX variants of the electric ID family.
The highlight here: the ID. GTI Concept, which already provides a glimpse of the electric GTI future. As probably Germany's most prominent tuner, Jean Pierre Kraemer will be showing his “Thunder Bunny” at the GTI fan festival. There will also be special Volkswagen show cars, a selection of the most spectacular models from Volkswagen Motorsport and trainee cars that VW apprentices have spent months modifying.
Around 200 GTI and R models will provide an impressive spectacle for the eyes and ears on Sunday when the motorcade makes its way across the Volkswagen factory site. There will also be a mobile dynamometer to measure engine performance in the GTI and R fans' community parking lot.
The event program was specially designed to meet the wishes of the fans and expanded to include ideas from the community. This includes, for example, the individualization of sneakers: a shoe designer from the community has developed special GTI designs for white sneakers. Visitors to the GTI meeting can not only purchase these shoes at his stand, but can also bring their own sneakers and have them customized on site. Food trucks, the famous Volkswagen currywurst, as well as DJ and live music are also part of the GTI fan festival. On Saturday evening, musician Michael Schulte will also give an exclusive live concert in the Autostadt.
All kids will also get their money's worth at the event. Numerous hands-on activities such as the Kids Trail, the bungee trampoline, the racing simulation “Sturmkind DR!FT” or the opportunity to take a tour of the stadium, the GTI FanCup, wakeboarding on the Arenasee or a driving simulator at Volkswagen R will keep everyone entertained.
Volkswagen Accessories & Lifestyle will also be presenting numerous new products such as the new GTI collection and a specially wrapped and accessorized GTI Clubsport, which was designed especially for the event. If you want to be there, you can do so from Friday at 12 noon, on the other days it starts at 11:00 am. Parking is available for GTI and R model owners as well as Community VIP ticket holders in the VIP parking lots North (P1) and South (P2). All other drivers must park their vehicles in the North parking lot (P3) and in the East Gate parking garage. Admission costs 19.76 euros in the year of the GTI's release. Children and young people under the age of 18 are admitted free of charge.