The Beetle was a masterpiece of innovation and economics – it was compact, but practical, and inexpensive to buy and maintain. The car’s curved exterior not only gave it a groundbreaking look, but was aerodynamic, too. Rear-wheel drive and its small stature gave the Beetle excellent handling, particularly when compared to the American land yachts of its day, and the innovative air-cooled engine required less maintenance and was easy to fix.

 

1968 > 1972: August 1967 saw the first major styling change with upright headlights, a shorter bonnet and engine lid, plus an exterior mounted fuel filler cap. These models retained the torsion bar front suspension and swing axle rear suspension, which remained until the end of Brazilian production in 2003. The only exceptions were the semi-automatic Beetle which came with I.R.S rear suspension and the 1302 and 1303 models which used front coil springs… (see below).  Engine options for these were 1192cc (34bhp), 1285cc (44bhp), 1493cc engine with (44bhp) and 1584cc (50bhp).

 

1971 > 72: ‘The 1302 Beetle’  In an effort to make the Beetle more practical and improve sales, VW offered a restyled version alongside the regular Beetle which was badged the 1302 (1285cc) and the 1302S (1584cc). This had a more bulbous front bodywork but retained the flat windscreen and the torsion bar front suspension was replaced with MacPherson struts with coil springs, similar to the VW Golf.

 

The rear suspension was also the much improved I.R.S torsion bar system similar to the Porsche 911 of the same era. These changes improved the handling, ride comfort and stability, plus the front luggage area increased from 5 cu ft to over 9 cu ft, however, the styling proved unpopular and it was replaced after 2 years by the 1303 model.

 

1973 > 80: ‘The 1303 Beetle’ This was a revision of the 1302 Beetle and was available as the 1303A (1192cc) 1303 (1283cc) and the 1303S (1584cc). The only major change was that the flat windscreen was replaced with a more modern curved windscreen, which improved aerodynamics and interior space. This was also sold alongside the regular, torsion bar; flat windscreen Beetle, with the last 1303 was built in 1980.

 

The classic styling of the torsion bar Beetles helped them outlive the improved design of the 1302/1302 ‘Super Beetles’ and production was ended in 2003 to free up factory space for the front engined, water-cooled ‘New Beetle.’