The story of a true SA motoring icon, the inimitable VW Beetle by John Lemon

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The story of a true SA motoring icon, the inimitable VW Beetle by John Lemon

Post by Tony Z »

By John Lemon
Posted by Johann Crafford
Article found at http://www.sixthgear.co.za/2012/10/15/t ... vw-beetle/


IN 1951 the Korean War was still very much a reality, world heavyweight boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson was beaten by Randolph Turpin and the world’s first production jet passenger airliner, the de Havilland Comet, had recently been granted its certificate of airworthiness.

That year also saw Springbok Radio, South Africa’s first commercial radio station, just one year old, beaming its programmes across South Africa advertising products like Persil washing powder, Ipana toothpaste, Post Toasties and many more names that are no more, Springbok Radio included.

One product introduced in South Africa in 1951, and which few people saw any future for, made its debut on the 31st of August and is still very much in evidence more than 33 years after production ceased. A best-seller for 11 years of its 28 year reign, the product is of course, the Volkswagen Beetle.

To put the Volkswagen story in South Africa into perspective, one really has to go back to 1946. In that year a franchise agreement was signed between the Studebaker Export Corporation of South Bend Indiana USA and a South African company, Industrial and Commercial Holdings, for the assembly and distribution of Studebaker cars and commercial vehicles. South African Motor Assemblers and Distributors (SAMAD) was formed the same year.

A site for the factory was chosen on the outskirts of Uitenhage, the foundations being laid in April 1947. The agreement and subsequent completion of the factory early in 1949 set up the infrastructure required for the assembly of vehicles from different manufacturers in order to make the factory economically viable. In that year an agreement was signed with Austin Motors of England for the assembly of Austins in Uitenhage, and towards the end of 1950 negotiations were started between SAMAD and Volkswagenwerk with a view to assembling the Volkswagen sedan in Uitenhage (the name “Beetle” was not yet official).

Even though no concrete agreement had yet been entered into between the two parties, a fully built-up Volkswagen was dispatched to SAMAD on the 28 March 1951. The agreement was eventually signed in Uitenhage in July. Present were SAMAD’s Managing Director, Mel Brooks, Baron Klaus von Oertzen, Volkswagen’s representative in South Africa, and Dr. Heinz Nordhoff, Head of Volkswagenwerk. On the 27July a second fully assembled Volkswagen was sent to Uitenhage. Amazingly this historic vehicle, still fitted with its original engine, has survived till today and belongs to Dr. Johan Van Rensburg of Kimberley!

After the signing of the agreement in July, things moved pretty quickly and on the 31 August 1951 the first Volkswagen came off the production line in Uitenhage. Volkswagenwerk insisted on setting up a dealer network for spares and sales, almost in that order and the last four months of 1951 saw 290 cars sold. Those were brave owners, not to mention the brave dealers who took on the franchise as Volkswagen was virtually unknown in South Africa and the car itself was unusual and unconventional in having an air-cooled engine situated in the rear.

There were no luxuries in those early models, not even a fuel gauge or a synchromesh gearbox, although the car did have hydraulic brakes (first fitted to the deluxe model in April 1950) and a very efficient heater. Very soon, however, the little German car started building a reputation for reliability although sales hovered around 500 units per year until 1954, mainly because of import restrictions. But from 1956 sales started to increase quite dramatically. No doubt the Volkswagen’s performance in local rallies in the hands of people like Leicester and Marion Symons helped to raise its reputation for reliability. Leicester and Marion entered the 1954 Pretoria/Lourenco Marques (Maputo) Rally (forerunner of the Total International Rally) in a used 1952 1131cc Beetle and walked off as overall winners.

Winning rallies like the tortuous East African Safari and the 16 000 km Round Australia Rally also helped to bolster its reputation for toughness and reliability.

On 1 June 1956, a 1955 model Volkswagen became the first two-wheel drive vehicle to conquer the notorious Sani Pass in the Drakensberg between Natal and Lesotho. The car was crewed by Leicester Symons, Ewold van Bergen, Dave Preiss and Martin Harper. Despite the hammering the car took in climbing the pass, which was virtually nothing more than a track for pack mules and covered in rocks and snow, the only repair it needed before coming second overall in the Pretoria/ Lourenco Marques Rally a few months later was a new clutch. The car on this occasion was crewed by Leicester and Marion Symons. Another Volkswagen, crewed by Tommy Campher and Naas Rabie won the event.

By this time the Beetle’s future was secured and sales were running at record levels, sales for 1957 were almost double those of 1956 at 5 212 units. With the introduction of the larger rear window and windscreen for the 1958 model year, one of the major criticisms of the Beetle was overcome and it became the best-selling model in South Africa for the first time.

Of course the Beetle has been credited with many almost unbelievable feats of endurance, but one outstanding and little known one was the epic journey undertaken in a standard 1960 Beetle by Mike Streeter and Colin Wynne of Port Elizabeth. The journey started in Port Elizabeth in December 1961 and ended nine months and 45 000 km later in London. The journey took them through Africa, the Middle East (where they were joined by Lilith Bond of Johannesburg), Europe and eventually to Norway where they reached Nord Kapp (North Cape) Island the northernmost point of Europe before heading for England.

On the motorsport scene in 1961, Beetles made a virtual clean sweep of the 4th Total International Rally. Leicester Symons and Ray Hauptfleisch in a Karmann Ghia took overall honours and first in class with Beetles in 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th overall and 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th in class. It is perhaps surprising to many people that the Beetle enjoyed quite considerable success as a rally car during the 50’s and 60’s, both in South Africa and internationally. This was probably due more to reliability and consistency rather than outright speed. Of course the skill of the drivers and navigators could not be discounted.

For the 1961 model year, major changes were made to the engine. While still 1192 cc (1200), horsepower was increased from 36 SAE (27kW) to 40 SAE (29kW) and for the first time a fully synchronised gearbox together with other “luxury” items such as a windscreen washer, self-cancelling indicator and padded sunvisor for driver and passenger were introduced. Still no fuel gauge though, that would only happen for the 1962 model.

Unit sales dropped to 9 993 in 1961 from an all-time high of 12 246 for 1960. By 1963 sales had climbed back to 13 049 units for the year and despite the setback in 1961, the Beetle was the best selling car for the 6th consecutive year.

While the Beetle was well-known for its low overall running costs, it was never really as economical as its rivals with regard to fuel consumption. Beetle owners seemed to drive their cars harder than most, as many letters by irate owners of other makes of car in the local press and motoring magazines would testify to. This probably accounted for the fact that the Beetle had proportionally higher fuel consumption, but if driven conservatively, the Beetle was up there with the best of them.

Very many changes were made to the Beetle over the years and its basic design was refined to a degree that was seldom approached by other vehicles. The 1966 model boasted the first cubic capacity increase since December 1953, namely from 1192cc (1200) to 1285cc (1300) and SAE horsepower climbed from 41.5 (31kW) to 50 (37kW). The Beetle had inadvertently joined the famed American “horsepower race”!

The price had meantime grown from R1 056 in 1952 to R1 395 by 1966. But then of course there was a lot more car for the money by that time, including from 1962 model, the long-awaited fuel gauge.

In July 1967, an addition to the Beetle line-up was announced which caused quite a stir. This was the semi imported 1500cc disc-braked Beetle which, just a few months before, had been launched in Germany to great acclaim. While only limited numbers were assembled, it proved popular particularly regarding the extra power generated by the 1500cc motor which put out almost 67% more h.p. than the 1100 cc motor used in South Africa from 1951 until December 1953. Its wider rear track enhanced road holding considerably.

South Africa’s own 1500cc Beetle arrived with the 1968 model which boasted many changes forced on it by American safety legislation including larger taillights, vertical headlamps and its distinctive large one-piece front and rear bumpers. Unfortunately it retained (as did all South Africa assembled Beetles from this point on) the domed hubcaps, drum brakes, five bolt wheel rims and linkpin/kingpin front suspension set-up of previous models, while the European models were fitted with front disc brakes, slotted four-bolt wheel rims with flat hubcaps and a ball-joint front suspension. This did not deter South African buyers, however, as sales reached record levels in 1968 and by 1970; with the introduction of the 1600 cc engine sales of 21 009 units were recorded, an all-time record for a single model in South Africa up to that time.

On 17 February 1972, Volkswagen plants world-wide celebrated the production of the 15 007 034th Beetle, so breaking the Model T Ford’s 45 year old record as the most produced single model in the history of the motor vehicle. It is doubtful if the Beetle’s record will ever be broken. The Model T and the Beetle remained true to their original concepts throughout their production lives (which should be the criteria on which the most produced single model should be based).

In 1973, sales again reached record levels with 21 034 units sold. This would be the highest figure achieved as from this point sales started to decline. With this in mind, Volkswagen South Africa started introducing limited edition models to boost sales.

The first of these was the “Fun Bug” introduced in 1974. A bright, fun car as its name suggested, full of unique features. Another limited edition Beetle was introduced in October 1974 to celebrate the 250 000th Beetle to be built in South Africa. Named the Lux Bug, it too featured many luxury items. Sales continued to fall despite efforts to stop the decline.

An innovative and uniquely South African addition to the range was introduced in May 1975 to boost the sales. It featured design changes made solely for the South African market. The car, known unofficially as the TDL Beetle (after Tucker D. Lochhead, Volkswagen South Africa’s Technical Director who proposed its production) was officially named the 1600S Super Beetle. It was a blend of the local 1600L Beetle and the 1303 Beetle built in Germany. Tooling amounted to R1 million which included a new front bonnet especially for this model. The roof section and dashboard were imported from Germany and the car was instantly recognisable by its large curved windscreen and full dashboard with cowled instrument panel.

The “Jeans Bug”, probably the most youthful looking Beetle, was introduced in 1976 together with the Silver Anniversary Beetle of which only 216 units were built to celebrate 25 years of the Beetle in South Africa. Sales continued to drop, however, with only 12 252 units sold for the year.

Even though the end was in sight, there was still a fight left in the Beetle with the introduction of one of the most exciting and powerful Beetles ever, the 1600 SP in 1977. It was fitted with a 67 h.p. (49kW) twin-carb motor.

Then dawned 1978, the last full production year for the Beetle in South Africa, its place on the production line being filled by the new front-engined, front-wheel drive, water-cooled wonder from Wolfsburg, the Golf. The last Beetle left the production line in Uitenhage on the 18 January 1979, a 1300 model with metallic bronze paintwork and very many luxury features. It was a sad occasion for many thousands of Beetle owners round the country, the Beetle at last succumbing to new technology which it had fought bravely to ward off for many years.

In all 288 353 Beetles were built in Uitenhage during its 28 year reign, 11 of them as South Africa’s top selling car. The last Beetle had a commemorative plaque on its dashboard which read, “The Legend Lives on”. The last Beetle was recently restored after it was nearly written off following an auto-carrier accident returning from an exhibition in Cape Town.

If one looks around the roads of South Africa and sees the large number of the first generation Beetles still driving around in everyday use and recognising that the last of these cars left the production line more than 33 years ago, then there is no doubt that the legend lives on.

Second generation Beetle in South Africa

The idea of giving the Beetle a second life came from the USA where nearly six million first generation Beetles were sold in a country where large tailfins and masses of chrome ruled supreme. The Volkswagen Design Centre in California created the “Concept 1” design study in 1993 which was first shown at the Detroit and Geneva Motor Shows early in 1994. This car could not have been more different than its predecessor with its Jetta underpinnings, water-cooled front mounted engine and front-wheel drive. It did, however, have a small vase and flower on the dashboard harking back to the 1950’s when this was a popular accessory for early Beetles.

Enormous enthusiasm is probably an understatement for the reception the car received. Volkswagen decided to put it into production. Such was the demand for the car in America when it was launched in 1998 that the European launch had to be postponed until 1999. It was reported in 1998 that 5 new Beetles destined for Canada were shipped to Germany and sold for DM 90 000 each, almost DM 60 000 above the market price.

When production ended in 2010, nearly 1 000 000 had been sold, almost half of that number in the USA. South Africa was lucky to receive the new Beetle for display at the Auto Africa motor show in October 1998 and it is fair to say it was the star of the show. Volkswagen South Africa decided to start importing the car and the first shipment of 219 arrived in Port Elizabeth in January 2000 and went on sale in February 2000. The initial demand was strong but it waned over the years.

When production of the new Beetle ended in 2010, over 2 600 units had been sold in South Africa including some cabriolets, first released for sale in the USA in 2003 and in South Africa the same year. South Africa had the choice of three models at the end, a 2.0 liter 85kW manual and automatic, a 1.8 liter 110kW Turbo and a 2.0 liter 85kW Cabriolet.

(Source: John Lemon, Volkswagen South Africa Car Historian)


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