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Standard de Luxe - VW 1200 A in the (historical) test

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Created on June 5, 1965

Text:

Jürgen Stockmar

Photos:

Archiv

16

Archiv

16

VW 1200 A (1966) - New are the flat hubcaps and the wheel disks with air slots

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VW 1200 A (1966) - with inviting open door, but reduced equipment

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VW 1300 A (1967) - almost chrome-free economy model, now with up to 40 hp

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VW 1200 A (1965) - The new "Spark Beetle" in a wintry forest

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VW 1200 (1965) - enlarged windshield with slight curvature and larger windshield wipers

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VW 1200 (1965) - now with fold-down rear seat bench to enlarge the rear luggage compartment

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VW 1200 (1965) - instead of the old stopcock with rotary knob, the heating is now regulated by a lever

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VW 1200 (1965) - uncovered door with visible mechanics for unlocking and window crank mechanism

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VW 1200 (1967) - Presentation model of the front axle

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VW 1300 (1966) - International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt 1965 - The 10 millionth VW and a new VW every 8 seconds

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VW 1300 (1966) - The latest model at the IAA in September 1965 together with an "Ovali" from the fifties

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VW 1200 De Luxe (1965) - Picnic in the countryside

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VW 1200 (1964) - The VW Beetle is so popular because it fits everywhere, ... even in the smallest parking space - from a sales brochure from 1964

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VW 1200 (1960) - the improved engine with 34 DIN horsepower

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VW 1300 (1967) - cutaway model

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Summary

In November 1964, the previous standard Beetle became the VW 1200 A. Since then, even the economy model could do without the double clutch and intermediate throttle, as the fully synchronized gearbox of the export model was now also installed here as standard. The reduced equipment remained unchanged, as did the 30 hp engine. The weaker engine in particular, in combination with the new transmission, became a point of criticism, as this historical test report explains.

This article contains the following chapters

Plain and simple
30 hp - not enough today
Likes to wobble
Long-lived Beetle
Technical data & measurements

Estimated reading time: 18min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Writing a test about the VW 1200 is probably one of the most difficult tasks a motoring journalist has to complete in the course of his career. For while he sits over his typewriter to put the collected driving impressions on paper, he already knows that he is practically writing into a vacuum. There are two reasons for this: firstly, the well-known and frequently expressed hostility of the higher authorities in Wolfsburg towards the press, who remain completely closed to even positive criticism, and secondly, the fact that Germany's motorists are divided into two groups that are difficult to reach in arguments: the pro- and contra-VW-ists. Despite these somewhat discouraging circumstances, however, an attempt will be made here to assess the VW 1200 A, uninfluenced by the myth it has acquired over the decades, whether deservedly or undeservedly, but from the perspective of modern automobile construction.

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