Paul Niedermeyer’s (2023) recently reposted story about Volkwagens of Brazil offers a helpful addendum to our Scirocco discussion. The automaker’s Brazilian arm went the farthest in giving the Beetle chassis a variety of more modern bodies. None of the models shown in the article arguably had anywhere near the design finesse of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s mid-70s VW’s, but they did try to build on the brand’s DNA rather than abandon it wholesale.
Since we’re talking about Volkswagen do Brasil, how can we not bring up the PS2 (Wikipedia, 2022)? For a variety of reasons the basic styling themes of this home-grown sporty coupe could not have been used as a literal alternative to the Scirocco’s, but the car does show how a more organic shape could look quite modern and sporty during the 1970s.
Also see ‘Four-door subcompacts were not exotic in late-60s and early-70s’
But back to Niedermeyer’s (2023) story. He made the astute point that the interior room of the Type 3 was uncompetitive because it did not have a longer wheelbase than the Beetle (for more rear-seat legroom), nor was it offered as a four-door sedan.
I would speculate that if VW had taken those two steps, the automaker might have been a bit less dependent on Beetle sales in the late-60s and early-70s. And here in the U.S., a more popular Type 3 might have helped to smooth the transition to post-Beetle styling.
NOTES:
The banner photo appears to show an early Type 3 wagon (circa 1963?) unofficially imported into the United States.
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RE:SOURCES
- Gunnell, John; 2004. Standard Catalog of Volkswagen, 1946-2004. KP Books, Iola, WI.
- Niedermeyer, Paul; 2023. “Curbside Classic: 1971 VW 1600 TL – Turns Out The Brazilian Type 3 Isn’t Really A Type 3; It’s the EA97 Reincarnated.” Curbside Classic. Posted Jan. 19.
- Wikipedia; 2022. “Volkswagen SP2.” Page last modified Oct. 22.
I believe the biggest problem with “post Beetle styling” was VW’s approach to it in the 1960s and 1970s. Nearly everything they were doing to the Beetle itself made it uglier and the “updated” models they were offering during those years, from the 411 to the 412 to the Dasher and finally to the first generation Golf/Rabbit were getting progressively more blocky and angular. Of course, that was a major styling trend of the time, but VW seemed to take particular pleasure in making it awkward, incoherent and, contrary to VW’s earlier image, unlovable.
To be fair, the 1970s were a difficult time for car design, with the boxy, angular lines that were considered current almost impossible to make beautiful in the space-efficient packages that VW needed. Picture the jewelry-store look of the very space-inefficient first-generation Cadillac Seville in a car that maximized interior space on a small footprint; it would have looked like a supermarket display case. But VW didn’t have to be a slave to that trend; Mercedes Benz kept its rounded corners throughout the 1970s and the Mini survived that decade with almost no styling “updates”. The Type 3 had some awkward proportions, but its slightly rounded corners made it easier on the eyes than most of the models they introduced in the 1970s.
You make some excellent points. VW’s in-house talent seemed to really struggle with coming up with a decent design language for the 1960s and 1970s that displayed at least some brand DNA with the Beetle/Karmann-Ghia era. So in a way it made sense that they threw their hands up in the air and brought in a consultant. Unfortunately, Giugiaro didn’t really understand Volkswagen. Or he didn’t have the design bandwidth to step away from his signature look.