Two more press photographs, this time showing the air-cooled VW 411 saloon, known universally as the Type 4. The first photograph is a cutaway drawing, and the second of a Volkswagen 411 parked on some grass.
The cutaway diagram shows the technical layout of the rear-engined Type 4, in this case a lefthanddrive 411L. The air cooled engine sat way out at the back of the car, well back from the rear axle line and the passenger cabin.
The second photo shows a front 3/4 view of the 411 Volkswagen, a car that to my eyes has received quite a beating with the ugly stick. Its a plain and simple design, but is surprisingly bland given that the Beetle and even the Type 3 were a lot more pleasing to look at. I can't remember the last time that I saw one of these at a show. However they do have some fans, with websites such as type4.org flying the flag for the VW 411 and 412 cars.
Under the skin the 411 incorporated several new design ideas for the Wolfsburg team, most importantly being the shift to a monocoque (ie chassis-less) body construction. The car didn't get a particularly warm reception from road testers of the day, and despite several facelifts to try and make it more desirable, production only lasted from 1968 to 1974, by which time the much more advanced VW Golf was being readed for launch 2 years later.
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Old Classic Car (C) R. Jones 2023. Content not to be reproduced elsewhere.
