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1971 VW SP
Engine, flat four cylinder, bore * stroke, 1678 cm3 (88,0 mm * 69,0 mm), compression ratio, 7,5 : 1, engine control ohv, 2 carburettors, 2 valves per cylinder, fan cooling, torque, 123
Nm at 3000 rpm, 48 kW (65 HP) at 4600 rpm, rear engine, rear drive, crank arm front, swing axle rear, wheelbase 2.400 mm, turning circle, 11.250 mm, 185 SR 14 (5,5''), length 4.217 mm, width 1.610 mm,
height 1.158 mm, tank capacity, 40 litres, trunk volume min/max, 140 litres front + 205 litres rear, kerb weight 890 kg + driver, 165 km/h, 1971 - 1976.
The low budget was crucial for production at the VW plant in Brazil. How did the South American subsidiary even get the chance to launch its own models? It all started with the Brazilian government's ban on
the import of complete vehicles.
Volkswagen was the largest manufacturer there in the early 1960s, after having already established the factory in 1953. The Beetle was called the 'Fusca,' the Transporter simply the 'Kombi' or 'Furgão.' Initially,
the vehicles were delivered as self-assembly kits.
That changed relatively quickly, however, and VW do Brasil became perhaps VW's most independent subsidiary. At some point, the proportion of parts manufactured by local suppliers rose to 95 percent, and
the Brazilian market became one of the manufacturer's most important.
One person who is said to have particularly driven the development of the SP was Rudolf Leiding, later CEO of the entire group and head of VW do Brasil. General Director Nordhoff apparently granted him more
freedom here.
Inspired by an initiative from Puma, a Brazilian sports car manufacturer, they built a much more racy sports car, but, as already mentioned, for cost reasons, they used as many VW parts from the group as possible.
There was no shortage of Karmann-branded vehicles in Brazil. There was even a subsidiary of the still independent manufacturer from Osnabrück. The first Karmann Ghia was introduced in 1962, naturally with many more
coupes than convertibles.
In 1970, the Karmann TC (pictured above) was launched. It already had the large tailgate, but this left little room above the engine. Leiding, however, seemed dissatisfied with the TC's design and handed over the formal
styling to Márcio Piancastelli, a Brazilian with presumably Italian roots who was a year-long intern at Ghia.
Piancastelli had previously successfully designed the Type 3 Variant station wagon specifically for Brazil. He is said to have even considered a two-seater sports car with a Targa roof. After all, this was the era of the VW-
Porsche 914, which was naturally unaffordable for the developing country at the time.
However, the base assembly of the Type 3, or rather the large Karmann Ghia, was used, thus drawing on the performance of the 1600. The car was presented at the German Industrial Fair in São Paulo. The city also gave
it the corresponding abbreviation.
Certain disadvantages of the design were already apparent,, as it had to be transported back and forth several times during production between the VW plant and the Karmann plant, just four kilometers away. The first cars
were delivered starting in June 1972.
There was also an SP 2 (pictured at the top) with the 1700cc type 4 engine. This one also had leather seats, a center console, and the now-common option of intermittent windshield wipers. Nevertheless, the SP failed to
achieve success. Its performance simply didn't match its exterior design.
The Karmann Ghia was forgiven for this, but the SP was not. With the VW-Porsche engine, things might have been different, but fuel injection would have made the car significantly more expensive. You could buy two
Beetles for one SP2.
In addition, the SP's chassis was essentially as old as the Beetle's. Although it had been prepared for export to the USA, the fact that the headlights were positioned too low had been overlooked. This is why the VW-
Porsche had pop-up headlights.
That's the way it is with bosses. They sometimes start something, and by the time the consequences of their actions become apparent, they're already somewhere else. Rudolf Leiding was appointed to Wolfsburg in 1971
and proved to be extremely important in setting the course for front-wheel drive technology in the Audi 50, Passat, and especially the Golf.
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