The original Golf GTi (notice the case of the letters) was launched in 1975 and was a bit of a cult car. It was arguably the first "hot hatch", a new kind of sports car for the fuel-crisis world. Where contemporary sports cars were more like the Corvette or Camaro or, in the continental tradition, like the MGB or Alfa Romeo GTV, the original Golf GTi was more in the mould of the factory hot-rod -- a basic car given a big engine, good brakes and a light dusting of attitude. In retrospect, it could be said that the original Golf GTi was the first, and only, entry level Porsche. (This article (via) is an interesting analysis of the origins of the Golf GTi.) Part of the appeal of the original GTi was that it was practical enough for driving every day and was able to hold your shopping or luggage but was sporty enough to make driving lots of fun.
As time went on, and the basic Golf was made bigger (as is the way of most cars) the GTi became bigger, too. With each generation the GTi (and GTI (note case!)) became more bloated and moved further away from the original idea of a factory hot-rod. In the most recent incarnation the GTI was not really worthy of the badge as it had become a luxury car with the merest hint of sportyness instead of the raw sports car the first GTi had been.
The new Golf GTI is supposed to be a return to the glory days of old, a fun, stripped out, sports car made from a Golf. Being the 21st century, the new GTI has lots of stuff the old GTi would have never had, airbags, ABS brakes, and so on, but all reports are that it is, spiritually at least, a true successor to the GTi of old. Thus, the original, updated.
Coda
Of course, some people prefer to keep their original GTi and update it.
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