Volkswagen 1600 Variant (1972) – In the wild

This blue Volkswagen 1600 Variant from 1972 proves that not every classic car is a spoiled sleeper. Given the rust-brown spurs all around and the overall exterior condition of the car, it spends most of its existence outside, which probably indicates that this Type 3 is just being used well.

Volkswagen

But, what is a Type 3? Isn’t the T3 a Transporter? Certainly. The ‘T3’ is the third generation of the Volkswagen van. The first series of these, the T1, was called Type 2, just as the Beetle was in fact the Type 1. The Type 3 in this story is therefore not a practical bus, but a passenger car with technical similarities to the Volkswagen Beetle. At the end of the 1950s, Volkswagen started developing a model for those looking for more space and luxury than the Beetle could offer. Was the Type 3 completely new? No. For the Type 3, Volkswagen pulled out part of the technology from the Beetle and the concept of the two cars is also very similar. That means: the same 2.4 meter long wheelbase, rear-wheel drive and an air-cooled petrol engine in the back.

In the case of this Volkswagen 1600 Variant, the petrol engine is a 1.6 four-cylinder boxer engine that sends 54 hp to the rear wheels. The Type 3 was also available with a 1.5. Of course, the Type 3 was not only available as the station wagon Variant visible in these photos, Volkswagen also supplied it as a two-door sedan and as a coupé. In South America, Volkswagen built another version of the Type 3, which was even available with four doors. The Type 3 was followed by the Type 4 (the 411/412) in the first generation Passat that appeared in the early 1970s.