Weird and Wonderful VWs - The VWs that never made It

Volkswagen's Experimental Designs

The Beetle itself was born out of persistent experimentation by the Porsche works, Volkswagenwerk produced a host of experimental test vehicles for the German Army during the war, but after the factory settled down to peacetime, Volkswagen settled into a record breaking production run of the Beetle and its derivatives. Yet despite its, to some observers at the time, surprising success, the company was constantly seeking to extend the range beyond the solid sales of the Bus and Bug.

From the 1950s onwards the firm sought in vain to produce a 'Beetle Killer'. Some saw the light of day. Both the Type 3 and Type 4 were intended to replace the company's reliance on the aircooled Beetle, both of these replacements never outlasted the good old Type 1.

By the 1970s sales of the Bug were still solid, but its design was showing its age, the Super Beetles (1302 and 1303) could not mask the fact that it was basically a pre war design and the type 1 was quickly becoming an albatross around VW's neck.

Not until the mid 1970s did the true successors arrive, the Golf, Polo and Passat (not forgetting the Ghia's replacement — the Scirocco) literally saved the company from being relegated to a carmaker that had its product lines in the past. Much loved as the bug is, and despite its long lived success, it was these watercooled models that brought the company into the last quarter of the last century.

But unless you visit the Wolfsburg museum you may not be aware of the many experimental designs that VW produced to extend its reach into the world auto markets. The Entwicklüngaufträg designation (EA) was given by the factory for these prototype models. Some never saw production, and others paved the way for later models, but they were the models that never made it.

The 1950s - the first steps

This decade saw the firm grow from strength to strength with ever growing sales of the Beetle and the introduction of the Type 2 in all its forms and the Italian styled Ghia as a sporty offering from the Beetle chassis. But steps were already being taken to add to the line up and even replace the Beetle itself. The eventual design to take over was released in 1961 — — the Type 3, which as we all know has a dedicated following today, was a great car — but never outlived the Bug. However — there were others€

The EA48

The EA48 was designed to slot below the Beetle in the line-up since the Beetle was solid, reliable but not always as cheap as some of it's competitors. A smaller car, it was powered by a 700cc two cylinder aircooled engine in the front of the car. The Beetles little cousin it may have been, but it was more advanced in one respect — it was the first VW to feature MacPherson strut suspension at the front, not added to the Beetle until 1971, and now the standard for modern cars, including the Golf. The only model now lives in Wolfsburg.

The EA97/1 - like a Beetle, but uglier

Perhaps the most surprising of my discoveries was the EA97/1, a project run from 1957 to 1963. A clear intention to replace and update the Beetle with a restyled but still rear engined aircooled model. However, the updated styling had lost the genius of Porsche's original, this 'New Beetle' was thankfully dropped in favour of the Type 3. Otherwise most of us might now be driving of these.

The Italian styling firm of Ghia was also working on a Beetle killer to present to the Volkswagen factory. With only a rear shot to look at we can only assume this boxy design (designated E53) was also rejected in favour of the Type 3. The type 3 itself was a better car than both of them — even if it didn't quite take over from the good old Bug.

Ghia's E53

On to The 1960s — The Long Road to Watercooled