VW should have made a 411/412.....

[tuna]

Ok, if VW would have built one more body style of 411/412, what would you have wanted? VW did a few body styles as prototypes but they never manufactured or sold them.

So let's hear from you.

Tuna

[Lahti411]

Here in Finland people liked more conservative looking cars, so i think a notch back would have been an important option. But I've often thought why didn't VW build the type 4 as a hatch back. That would have been very trendy and up to date in the late sixties.

[MattKab]

A huge notchback would be cool.

[Class 11 streeter]

Option #5: A 411 'Caddy'

Here is a VW Saveiro, it's sisterships in 2 and 4 door sedan and 2 door wagon were sold in the US as the Fox but never in the caddy bodystyle.

If you squint it should give you an idea of what the 411 caddy might have looked like:

[Wally]

Option #5: A 411 'Caddy'

Here is a VW Saveiro, it's sisterships in 2 and 4 door sedan and 2 door wagon were sold in the US as the Fox but never in the caddy bodystyle.

and people complained that the type 4 was ugly...

But seriously, I'd say none of the above for me. Marketing wise for VW however, they should have made the squareback a 4-door. I myself would've probably found that the least fun car, but it would have made good sales for vw I suspect.

[SureFit Travis]

My vote was for the convertible. Wasn't there a prototype built at one time? Anyone got a link to pictures of the prototype? I'm sure I've seen pics before.......

Travis

[ubercrap]

4 door wagon would have been the logical choice for them to build. I don't think a convertible would look right, as I have considered cutting the roof off of one (with fist-sized rust holes in the pillars) but there is just no good place to cut that doesn't look awkward.

[wildthings]

What I would have liked to have seen is a Super Beetle with about an 8-10 inch stretch and four doors. Power it with a Type 4 engine and you would have had a great seller.

If I didn't have so much invested in my 411 I would be tempted to take two SB and do a little chopping and welding and build one.

[Wally]

They also should have made the prototyp 412 with the 2,0 liter 914 engine into production!

And talking about engines, a 6-cylinder type 4 engine would have been logical to compete with the 6-cyl BMW's and Merc's at the time...

[tuna]

I remembered that there was a guy that was building what VW should have built, a 4 door wagon Type 4.

http://www.rastall.com/412/index.html



It's going to look cool when it's done.

Tuna

[tuna]

--> Type 4 caddy?

--> 411 two-door notchback

[412s2]

The failure of the Type 4 to make an impact on the motoring world was the final nail in the coffin of the rear engined Volkswagen car. VW must have spent a fortune developing a new platform, engine and manual transmission for this car. Think how much of the Type 4 is mechanically unique to this model, surely VW must have been planning a new range of passenger cars based around this architecture?

At that time Volkswagen obviously still had faith in the rear-engined concept so I think they should have been much more adventurous with their design and produced something iconic, a proper driver's car, it would have been the only way to sell this concept to the buying public. I think they should have designed something to compete directly with the BMW 2002 of the same period, with a high reving 4-cylinder, overhead-cam boxer engine producing at least 110BHP (that would have made a fantastic engine for the VW-Porsche 914/4 too). Imagine a kind of Porsche sports saloon or Variant with a VW badge, I think that would have been a lot more desirable than a rather unusual looking 4-door with 68bhp! After that they could have produced some cheaper mass market models based around the new technology. Just imagine the models we would have today if the Type 4 had been the car to save VW... ?

[Lars S]

Yes, concidering that at the beginning of the '70s, VW in their family produced three almost same size family cars: the 411 and the Audi100 (produced at the same line!) and also, not forget, the newly introduced K70. In principle the three models did not share one (1) single component! It is easy to understand that at least one of them had to leave: the 412 and K70 wery soon did...

The ESVW is a model I would like to have seen refined and put in the market. The prototype had some 100Hp and a modern design. (I would not mind if they had put a watercooled boxer in it and a few more Hp...).

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/68207.jpg
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... :middle:au