Europe's best-selling Volkswagen Golf is named after the Gulf Stream, a warm Atlantic Ocean current, and not the game of golf, Europe's biggest carmaker insists, some 40 years after the model made its debut.
To understand why, you need to know that a gulf and the game of golf are both written "Golf" in the German language.
The inspiration for the name has been the subject of questions ever since Italian designer Giorgio Guigiaro drew the outline of the first compact hatchback, the Mark 1. It went on sale in May 1974. The Golf has gone through seven generations and is now sold globally.
"The name is actually short for the Gulf Stream, 'Golfstrom' in German, which is responsible for Europe's favourable climate," said a VW spokesman. The Gulf Stream begins in the Gulf of Mexico.
The ocean current was mentioned in the German sales brochure for the Mark 1 model, whereas there was no mention of the game of golf.
The Golf was sold in the United States as the Rabbit, apparently because the Germans feared confusion with the Gulf Oil company.
More proof of the climatic inspiration comes from the fact that other VW models are also named after meteorological phenomena: the Scirocco and Passat are named after hot winds.
After the rear-engined Beetle, the Golf is the world's second best-selling car ever, with more than 30 million turned out so far.
The Golf has become a symbol of classless mobility throughout Europe.
Famous former Golf owners include Pope emeritus Benedict XVI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
