Der Spiegel Archive

[412s2]

The following links are from the German current affairs magazine Der Spiegel give an insight into what the press thought of the 411 when it was in production, they have been translated using Google hence the rather strange English, but you should get the gist of the article :

In May 1967 Der Spiegel visited Wolfsburg to view some of the prototypes VW had been working on, early Type 4 prototypes were on display but none of the later ones!! Click here to see a PDF version of the original article, there is a grainy picture of a number of the Type 4 prototypes, you can see the EA158 cabriolet and behind it some Ghia bodied EA53s and further behind a Porsche bodied EA53, sadly the other half of the picture is missing from this PDF copy

http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/dokumen ... ik=artikel
^^HTML version of the above article, can't hyperlink it, looks like STF doesn't like the umlaut...

A PDF file showing the cover of Der Spiegel 20th May 1968. It shows a photograph of a EA142 prototype. This car appears to have 4 headlamps like the 1970 models have

The 411 was not warmly recieved by the press when it was launched in 1968. Click here to read an interview with the then VW chairman Kurt Lotz published in September 1968. The interviewer is quite scathing of the 411!!

This article from 12th May 1969, highlights that 411 is not selling well and that production was dropping below a daily rate of 200 units when Volkswagen were hoping for significantly more than 500!

In spite of the criticism in the press, 411s proved to be well liked by their owners! At least according to this article from October 1970

Anticipating the launch of the VW 412, they speculate that it will be offered with a 100 bhp engine...

I found the following picture on The Samba, the cars are described as Porsche 726 prototypes (which were based on the beetle platform), but I think they are actually Porsche 728 prototypes (which were monocoques) as the body of the fastback looks identical to the early EA53 prototypes I have seen; the EA53 was developed from the Porsche 728.

[Lars S]

Intresting facts Neil!
As usual when seeing prototypes which could have become the Type4 Im glad they did choose the 411.
Yes, the 100hp engine was expected, and in practice available (the 914 2,0) sorry it never was implemented...


Lars S

[412s2]

I found another document online that tells us a little bit more about the prototypes that led to the Type 4. It's a magazine published by Porsche Engineering: Click here to see the whole document

There isn't much, but it does say:

1955: Working on behalf of Volkswagen AG, Porsche’s construction engineers develop Type 672, a compact concept car with rear-wheel drive. This prototype is powered by an extra-flat six-cylinder underfloor engine.

1960: Conceived as the potential successor to the VW Beetle in both notchback and fastback design, Type 728 (Development Assignment 53) is completed in spring 1960 on behalf of Volkswagen.

and

Since 1931 we tinkered.
And we’re not finished yet.

There are a couple of very small pictures of these cars too, I had never seen the Porsche Type 672 before!

[Lars S]

Nice Porsche magazine, thanks!

At the end of the 1st Spiegel document in this thread (in German, 1967) the author tells what is to come from VW in 1968:
"...a spacious and comfortable veichle with an 1,8l engine and a design resembling the british middle class car Austin 1800, sketched by Pininfarina"



The Austin 1800 came 1964...where does it remind of the 411?


Lars s

[412s2]

Actually I can see a little bit of the 411 in the BMC ADO71 (AKA Austin 1800/2200, Morris 1800/2200, Wolseley 18-85/Six)... Compare the headlamp wing treatment of the BMC product with the single headlamp 1966 EA158, just ignore the grill. Also look at the lines from the bottom of the side windows, the curve of the panelwork down to the prominent swage line around its middle, the flat step from the curved section of metal to the bottom of the window line. I think it's all very generic '60s Pininfarina...

Of course there are other similarities between the Type 4 Volkswagen and the BMC ADO71:

Unpopularity
The 1800 and 2200 were not strong sales successes. While they were technically interesting, and offered a roomy interior and comfortable ride, they struggled to find a place in the market. This was due to several reliability problems (the automatic was particularly troublesome). The styling was not generally accepted. The packaging expertise that seemed a miracle in the Austin Mini and Austin 1100, was much less relevant in a larger car, so that the car seemed to be 'between sizes', oversized and not a direct competitor for the market slot that it was aimed at. In modern terms, it is the same external size as a Mark 1 Ford Focus, but has the interior space of a Mondeo.

For more information on the BMC ADO71 'Landcrab' have a look at this site http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?ado17storyf.htm
I wish there was a site like this about VWs, it really does give a fully comprehensive history of the disaster that was British Leyland and it is quite fascinating!!

[Wally]

Nice finds Neil (as usual )