21,529,464 VW Beetles were built between 1938 and 2003, a record at the time. The number of books about the crawling beast from Wolfsburg is also record-breaking. Alexander F. Storz is now writing another one for Motorbuch Verlag, focusing on the most highly developed life form of the Beetle, commonly known as models 1302 and 1303.
Introduction to the history of the beetle
Of course, Storz cannot simply go straight to the 1302/1303, but first tells the story of the Beetle between 1938 and 1970 on a few pages.
But on page 28 he gets straight to the main topic, the Super Beetle.
The 1302 from 1970
With a new chassis, longer wheelbase, greater overall length and many other improvements, the Beetle had changed substantially just at the moment when it had almost been written off. But Volkswagen had no choice, because there was no product in the Volkswagen portfolio that could have replaced the Beetle in terms of sales.
"The Beetle with Porsche chassis", Storz writes about the 1302 and explains it to the public in detail, but also shows it in many historical photos over more than 20 pages. Even the question of where the 1301 had actually gone is answered.
The 1303 from 1972
Just two years after the launch of the 1302, the 1303 followed, uncharacteristically quickly after such an extensive overhaul. The expected new US safety regulations were to blame, as well as defects in the 1302 that needed to be rectified. And the 1303 was also only built for just three years, as the last closed 1303 rolled off the production line on July 31, 1975, after just 916,713 units. In principle, the VW Golf, which could do everything a little better, had killed it off.
The Cabriolet, however, was built (at Karmann) for four and a half years longer, the last examples were literally snatched out of Wolfsburg's hands and mothballed as new cars in series, because the Golf Cabriolet couldn't quite compete with the original 1303 Cabriolet in terms of charm.
Storz explains the background to the development and the end of production in detail. And he guides the reader through the various stages of the 1303's evolution, showing factory photos as well as pictures from Storz's extensive private archive.
For the 1302/1303 Cabriolet, Storz even lists the number of units per year in a clear table; otherwise, unfortunately, you have to search for the production figures in the text, if they are available.
Extras, tuning and more
The 144-page booklet also reports on contemporary tuning trends and provides information on accessories and extras.
One very special photo, for example, shows a collection of VW Beetles in Switzerland, all equipped with "milk can holders". As is well known, Swiss farmers all drove Beetles before the Subaru, more or less.
Not only, but especially Germany
Storz also looks beyond the country's borders, telling of the Americans' love of the Wolfburger "Läuft und läuft und läuft" car, for example. The typical differences between the US and German versions of the Beetle can also be found here. Of course, advertising examples are also included. And other export markets are also highlighted.
Nevertheless, the focus is primarily on the German Beetle, as can be seen from the sales figures at the end of the book, which are limited to West Germany and West Berlin.
Not completely off the peg
Finally, an extensive section of the book is devoted to the countless special and promotional models, starting with the World Champion special model and ending with the World Cup convertible.
Here, too, you can find out many interesting details. For example, the Nordstadt Cabriolet was only built 20 times, but cost twice as much as the standard version. Or what exactly was the "Champagne Edition II" like? Storz explains, right down to the color codes.
Everyday use and restoration
The volume is supplemented by a chapter on the Super Beetle in everyday use and the introductory chapter, which deals with a student's long-standing love affair with his 1303, which even led to a complete restoration after the car was taken out of service.
Rich in pictures and prose
The booklet, which can be purchased for just under EUR 20, is aimed more at readers who want to be inspired than those who are looking for hard facts and technical details. Although there is a double page with technical data in the appendix, it is not documented very extensively and many details are missing that one was used to reading in the Automobil Revue catalog, for example.
In general, Storz is probably not interested in completeness and quick retrieval of information, otherwise he would have worked much more with tables and overviews. And, as is unfortunately common today, there is no index at the end of the book.
Nevertheless, the reader receives a comprehensive package of knowledge about the Beetle models of the years 1970 to 1980, which certainly makes the book worth considering.
Bibliographical information
- Title: VW 1302/1303 - the evolution of the Super Beetle
- Author: Alexander F. Storz
- Language: German
- Publisher: Motorbuch Verlag
- Edition: 1: Edition September 2019
- Format: Hardcover, 17 x 24 cm
- Scope: 144 pages, 160 illustrations
- ISBN: 978-3-613-04197-4
- Price: EUR 19.95
- Buy/order: Online at amazon.de, online at Motorbuch Verlag or in relevant bookstores
