FAST

FACTS

Even in its final year of production, the Beetle was the only small four seater convertible available on the market
The Beetle’s build quality and long term reliability were heavily marketed by VW. During development, for example, the windows were rolled up and down 35,000 times to ensure repeatable, problem free operation – and “to make sure they’ll roll down another 35,000 times”
Even the seats were weighted down 1 million times with 110lb weights to ensure they won’t deform and become uncomfortable over time
VW also had a factory inspector perform spot checks on the paint with a tool called a “lektroscope”. This was an early ancestor to the modern paint thickness gauge, and it ensured the paint quality was uniform throughout the entire finish
The Super Beetle, which came out in 1971, was 2 inches longer than the standard Beetle and featured MacPherson strut suspension (vs the standard’s torsion bar setup) as well as increased luggage space. A quick way to tell a Super Beetle from a standard Beetle is to look at the spare tire. If it’s standing up, it’s a standard Beetle. If the tire sits completely flat (like this one), it’s a Super

Key Model Year Changes:

Final year of the Beetle in the U.S
Intermittent windshield wipers and cigarette lighter are now standard
Only the convertible was available in 1979. The hardtop (“sedan”) was discontinued in 1977
The semi-automatic (Autostick) transmission option was only available from 1968 to 1976

Specs: