In Britain, VW never used the name Beetle officially. It had only been known only as either the “Type I” or as the 1100 (eleven-hundred), 1200 (twelve-hundred), 1300 (thirteen-hundred) or 1500 (fifteen-hundred), which had been the names under which the vehicle was marketed in Europe; the numbers denoted the vehicle’s engine size in cubic centimetres. In 1998, many years after the original model had been dropped from the lineup in most of the world (production continued in Mexico until 2003), VW introduced the “New Beetle” (built on a Volkswagen Golf Mk4 platform) which bore a cosmetic resemblance to the original.
Its peculiar styling, underpowered motor, rough ride, and high noise levels compared to modern vehicles might have made it a market failure.
In its day, though, it was more comfortable and powerful than most European small cars, and ultimately the longest-running and most-produced automobile of a single design (a record that will not take long to be beaten by its younger “cousin” the Type-2 Bus or Kombi, which is still in production in Brazil, with the same basic characteristics of the first series). It remained a top seller in the US, even as rear-wheel drive conventional subcompacts were refined, and eventually replaced by front-wheel drive models.
The Beetle car was the benchmark for both generations of American compact cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair, and subcompact cars such as the Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Vega. In the international poll for the award of the world’s most influential car of the twentieth century the Beetle came fourth after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS.
Beetle derivatives
While production of the standard Beetle continued, a Type 1 variant called the Super Beetle, produced from model year 1971 to 1979 (1302s from 1971 to 1972, and 1303s from 1973 onwards), offered MacPherson strut front suspension, better turning radius (despite having a 20 mm (3/4 in) longer wheelbase), and approximately double the usable space in the front luggage compartment, due to the stretched “nose” of the vehicle and relocation of the spare tire from a vertical to a horizontal position.
1972 Super Beetles had a slightly larger rear window, larger front brakes, and four rows of vents on the engine lid. The tail lights now incorporated reversing lights. The front seats incorporated headrests, and the steering wheel was changed to four spokes for safety reasons. A socket for the VW Dealer Diagnosis was fitted inside the engine compartment.
In 1973, a padded dashboard, 2-speed heater fan, higher rear mudguards, a more aerodynamically curved windscreen and larger tail lights (nicknamed ‘elephant’s feet’) were added.
1975 and later Super Beetles had rack and pinion steering, and a larger license plate lamp housing below the engine lid. The front indicators were moved into the bumper bars on European models. Carburetors were replaced by Air Flow Control (AFC) Fuel Injection on U. S. and Canadian Beetles, a derivative of the more complex Bosch fuel injection system used in the Volkswagen Type III.
In 1976, the Super Beetle and 1300 were discontinued (though convertibles remained Super Beetles) and replaced with an ‘improved’ standard Beetle with 1600cc engine, IRS rear suspension, front disc brakes, blinkers in the front bumpers, elephant’s foot tail lights and rubber inserts in the bumper bars.
The Super Beetle (VW 1302 and 1303 series, also called Type 113) is not the only Type 1 variant; other VWs under the Type 1 nomenclature include the Karmann Ghia and the VW 181 utility vehicle, as well as the Brasilia and the Australian Country Buggy (locally produced in Australia using VW parts).
The Type 2 transporter (“bus”) is based on the Beetle T1 platform with very similar mechanicals, but with a box shaped body and driver placed over the front wheels. This variant would inspire a generation of compact vans, and later minivans in capacity and size.
Also, as mentioned below, Type 3 and Type 4 were all developments of the original Porsche design.
Conflict with Tatra
Much of the Beetle’s design was inspired by the advanced Tatra cars of Hans Ledwinka, particularly the T97. This car also had a streamlined body and a rear-mounted 4 cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine. The Tatra V570, a prototype for a smaller car, also shows quite a resemblance to the later Volkswagens. According to the book Car Wars, Adolf Hitler called the Tatra ‘the kind of car I want for my highways’.
In the same book, it is said that Ferdinand Porsche admitted ‘to have looked over Ledwinka’s shoulders’ while designing the Volkswagen. Tatra launched a lawsuit, but this was stopped when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. At the same time, Tatra was forced to stop producing the T97.
The matter was re-opened after WW2 and in 1961 Volkswagen paid Tatra 3,000,000 Deutsche Marks in compensation. These damages meant that Volkswagen had little money for the development of new models and the Beetle’s production life was necessarily extended. Tatra ceased producing passenger cars in 1950, then resumed again in 1954 as a manufacturer of large luxurious cars and limousines under various Communist governments in Czechoslovakia. Even its last limousines showed similarities to the Beetle, as they were rear-engined and air cooled. Tatra is now a truck manufacturer.
VW Diesel
In 1951, Volkswagen prototyped a 1.3 litre diesel engine. Volkswagen made only 2 air-cooled boxer diesel engines that were not turbocharged, and installed one engine in a Type 1 and another in a Type 2. Just for fun, the diesel Beetle was time tested on the Nürburgring and achieved a 0-60 mph in one minute.
To Be Continued,.... :-)
