1973 Volkswagen 1303s

The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German the Käfer (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, intended for five occupants (later, Beetles were restricted to four people in some countries), that was manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswgagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.

The need for a people's car (Volkswagen in German, and in the English-speaking world in the early 20th century as "folks' wagon"), its concept and its functional objectives were formulated by the leader of Nazi germany, Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap, simple car to be mass-produced for his country's new road network (Reichsautobahn). Members of the National Socialist party, with an additional dues surcharge, were promised the first production, but civil war in Spain shifted most production resources to military vehicles instead to support Francisco Franco. Lead engineer Ferdinand Porche and his team took until 1938 to finalise the design. Béla Barényi is credited with first conceiving the original design for this car in 1925, notably by Mercedes-Benz, on their website, including his original technical drawing, five years before Porsche claimed to have done his initial version. The influence on Porsche's design of other contemporary cars, such as the Tatra V570, and the work of Josef Ganz remains a subject of dispute. The result was the first Volkswagen, and one of the first rear-engined cars since the Brass Era. With 21,529,464 produced, the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single platform ever made.

Volkswagen Logo 1948

Although designed in the 1930s, due to World War II, civilian Beetles only began to be produced in significant numbers by the end of the 1940s. The car was then internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the Volkswagen. Later models were designated Volkswagen 1200, 1300, 1500, 1302, or 1303, the former three indicating engine displacement, the latter two derived from the model number. The car became widely known in its home country as the Käfer (German for "beetle", cognate with English chafer) and was later marketed under that name in Germany, and as the Volkswagen in other countries. For example, in France it was known as the Coccinelle (French for ladybug). In 1943, Roy Fedden applied for a patent, GB570814, 'Improvements relating to road vehicles', a car identical to VW Käfer.

The original 25 hp Beetle was designed for a top speed around 100 km/h (62 mph), which would be a viable cruising speed on the Reichsautobahn system. As Autobahn speeds increased in the postwar years, its output was boosted to 36, then 40 hp, the configuration that lasted through 1966 and became the "classic" Volkswagen motor. The Beetle gave rise to multiple variants: mainly the 1950 'Type 2 Bus', the 1955 Karmann Ghia, as well as the 1961 'Type 3 Ponton' and the 1968 'Type 4 (411/412) family cars', ultimately forming the basis of an entirely rear-engined VW product range. The Beetle thus marked a significant trend, led by Volkswagen, and then by Fiat and Renault, whereby the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout increased from 2.6 percent of continental Western Europe's car production in 1946 to 26.6 percent in 1956. In 1959 even General Motors launched an air-cooled, rear-engined car, the Chevrolet Corvair—which even shared the Beetle's flat engine and swing axle architecture.

Over time, front-wheel drive, and frequently hatchback-bodied cars would come to dominate the European small-car market. In 1974, Volkswagen's own front-wheel drive Golf hatchback succeeded the Beetle. In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the Concept One, a "retro"-themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, and in 1998 introduced the "New Beetle", built on the contemporary Golf platform with styling recalling the original Type 1. It remained in production through 2010, and was succeeded in 2011 by the Beetle (A5), the last variant of the Beetle, which was also more reminiscent of the original Beetle. Production ceased altogether by 2019.

In the 1999 Car of The Century competition, to determine the world's most influential car in the 20th century, the Type 1 came fourth, after the Ford Model T, the Mini and the Citroën DS.

1973 Model

1973 GSR Beetle

1973 models featured significantly enlarged "elephant foot" taillamps mounted in reshaped rear fenders. In the engine bay, the oil-bath air cleaner gave way to a dry element filter, and the generator was replaced with an alternator. The 1302/Super became the 1303 with a new taller wrap-around windscreen. The changes to the cowl and windshield resulted in slight redesign of the front hood. The instrument panel, formerly shared with the standard Beetle, was all-new and incorporated a raised speedometer pod, rocker-style switches and side-window defrosters. The limited-edition GSR (Gelb-Schwarzer Renner; German for "Yellow-Black Racer") was a 1303 S available only in Saturn Yellow paint equipped with special 5.5 in (140 mm) wide sport wheels fitted with 175/70-15 Pirelli Cinturato CN36 high-performance radial tires. Front and rear deck lids were finished in matte black, as was all exterior trim with the exception of the chrome headlamp bezels. Inside were corduroy and leatherette high-bolstered sport seats and a small diameter three-spoke steering wheel with padded leather rim and a small red VW logo on the bottom spoke.

In North America, the GSR was sold as the Super Beetle Sports Bug. The North American model had body-color deck lids and was available in Marathon Blue Metallic in addition to Saturn Yellow. In some markets, the sport wheels (in both 4.5-inch and 5.5-inch widths), sport steering wheel and sport seats became available as stand-alone options.

Referenced website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Beetle#1970%E2%80%931979_models

Specifications

Engine specifications

Brand: Volkswagen
Factory: Wolfsburg
Produced: 1,206,018 / 860,726 from Germany
Production Years: 1973
Type: Small Family Car
Predecessor: 1302
Versions: 2 d, sedan, coupé
Engine: 1.581cc
Max Speed: 140 km/h
Traction: RWD (Rear-wheel-drive)

Transmission

Type: Rear-wheel-drive
Gearbox ratios 1st: 3.80/1 (38/10) 2nd: 2.06/1 (35/17) 3rd: 1.26/1 (63/50) 4th: 0.88/1 (53/60) R: 3.61/1 (43/14)

Basic dimensions

Length: 4080 mm / 160.6 in
Width: 1585 mm / 62.4 in
Height: 1500 mm / 59.1 in
Wheelbase: 2420 mm / 95.3 in
Fuel capacity: 45 liter
Cd estimated by a-c: 0.41
Weight: 850 kg

Chassis-body

Type: steel monocoque VW chassis with roll-cage
Front suspension: Macpherson strut with coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers
Rear suspension: semi trailing arm with coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers and anti roll bar

Type: TypeVW AD type 2, boxer flat 4 cyl (180^o), 4 stroke
Capacity: 1584 cc
Bore x Stroke (mm): 85.5 x 69.0
Compression ratio: 7.5:1, 9.1:1
Output power - torgue: 50 HP / 4000 rpm 120-128 HP / 7000 rpm
Main bearings: 5 of 50.9mm diameter
Materials block: magnesium or aluminium alloy
Cams/valvessingle: camshaft in center of block and below crankshaft with overhead valves (OHV), gear driven
Valves per cylinder: 2
Fuel system: 1 x Solex 34 PICT or 1 x Weber 32 DHS-1
Charge system: naturally aspirated
Cooling system: air cooled with 28 blade centrifugal fan
Lubrication system wet sump with 1 oil cooler