The VW Beetle story
The Super Beetle (1970)
The next major change arrived in time for the 1971 model year, when Volkswagen introduced the Super Beetle (known as the 1302 in most global markets). McPherson struts replaced the torsion beam front suspension, allowing engineers to mount the spare tire horizontally and address one of the Beetle’s biggest shortcomings by carving out a bigger trunk. All told, Volkswagen boasted it made 89 improvements to the Beetle to make it worthy of the Super prefix.
The brand displayed an unusually high level of foresight when it added a diagnostic port in the engine bay. It allowed technicians to monitor the rear lights, the condition of the charging circuit, the engine’s compression and the ignition timing.
The upgrades came at a slight cost. In 1972, the Super Beetle cost $1985 (about $11,824 today). The standard Beetle cost $1845 (roughly $10,990 today) that same year.
Volkswagen vs. Ford
Volkswagen built the 15,007,034th Beetle in February 1972, a number not as random as it might initially seem. It meant the Beetle had passed the Ford Model T to become the best-selling car in history. Volkswagen celebrated the occasion with a special model named Weltmeister, a word that means ‘world champion’ in German. Based on the 1302 S, it stood out with metallic blue paint and special wheels.
The Beetle’s final evolution (1972)
The 1303 arrived in August of 1972 as a 1973 model. It retained the Super Beetle designation in America. Volkswagen added a curved windshield for safety reasons; it reduced the risk of glass cutting the passengers during a front-end collision. The dashboard inevitably got bigger while the hood shrunk correspondingly.
Yellow black racer (1972)
Enthusiasts raced the Beetle in a wide variety of motorsport events ranging from the Monte-Carlo Rally to the Baja 1000, though they rarely went racing with factory support. In 1972, Volkswagen finally answered to calls for a sportier model by releasing a limited-edition model named GSR, an acronym that stood for gelb schwarzer renner (‘yellow black racer’ in German). Though not exactly the GTI of the Beetle family, it looked the part with a flat black hood, wider steel wheels, a three-spoke steering wheel and sport seats for the front passengers.
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