These seven VW models shaped the history of the brand

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A lot has happened in the 86-year history of the Volkswagen company, 75 of which were in Switzerland. During this time, VW created at least 36 model series, excluding special models and concepts. Some of them managed to convince people and became bestsellers. Others did not suit the public and failed. We have selected seven models that are important to the development of the company.

The VW Beetle is one of the perfect cult cars. Also known as VW Type 1 among experts. More than 21.5 million models were produced and delivered from 1938 to 2003. It was the world’s best-selling car until 2002, when it was replaced by its younger brother, the VW Golf. The Beetle is known for its rear-wheel drive, air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine, available in numerous variants from 1.1 to 1.8 liters.

Also known as the Bulli, the VW Bus is just as iconic as the VW Beetle. The bus is also referred to internally as the Type 2 as it was built as the second model after the Beetle. The first prototype was created in 1948, mass production began two years later. The first model series T1 is very popular today as a classic car. Depending on the situation, prices are currently over CHF 70,000. We have now reached the seventh generation, the T7.

Coati’s official name is VW 411/412 and it was introduced in 1968. Due to the rear engine, the trunk volume is relatively small, only 170 liters fit behind the rear seats, 400 liters in the front trunk. The front end has been elongated to create more space at the front – resulting in a somewhat odd look and coati nickname. The VW 411/412 symbolizes the indecisive time in terms of model policy – in the early 1970s, when VW was preparing to convert drivers to water-cooled front engines – for example, for the VW Passat.

In 1973 VW released the then revolutionary Passat. In the Passat B1, the new water-cooled in-line engine, which is mounted transversely at the front and drives the front axle, does its job. Thus, the era of air-cooled boxer engines behind rear-wheel drive vehicles came to an end at VW. The trade wind got its name due to the equatorial wind blowing from the east, which is very popular with sailors and airline pilots because of its persistence. The new wind identification model was quickly adopted by VW, and other VW models were named after the winds (eg Golf, Scirocco or Jetta).

VW’s venture in the luxury league is not crowned with success. In 2002, then VW patriarch Ferdinand Piëch (1937-2019) erected a rolling monument and released the luxury sedan with the unpronounceable name Phaeton (name of the son of the sun god Helios). It offered technical features VW could not have imagined at the time, such as adaptive air suspension or adaptive cruise control, as well as lush engines from V6 to W12. Despite four major facelifts by 2016, VW failed to sell its flagship more than 86,000, and the number of new registrations fell far behind the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class each year.

The XL1 should have been a lighthouse project in the VW group nearly a decade ago. Powered by a 0.8-liter diesel engine and powered by a lithium-ion battery, the VW XL1 plug-in hybrid consumes only 1.82 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers with a fully charged battery. But the range of the cigar-shaped XL1 is only 550 kilometers, as the gas tank is only 10 liters. After much internal debate over whether it should be a large or small series, VW produced just 200 copies of the exotic yet trend-setting vehicle from 2014 to 2016.

The first vehicle in the VW Group to be designed as fully electric and based on the MEB platform (modular electric drive system) is the VW ID.3, which was unveiled at the IAA in Frankfurt in 2019. Now the first of the ever-growing VW ID electric family. The ID.3 is available in three variants that differ in battery capacity and thus range. Meanwhile, the ID.3 designation was created from “intelligent design” and for the third level of classification of vehicle classes, namely the compact class.

Source: Blick