Originally built by famed Kiwi grass-track and hill climb specialist, Doug Bremner, this stylish coupe now goes as well as it looks

The Karmann-Ghia’s origins are somewhat clouded by myth, hearsay and speculation, with both an Italian and a US stylist claiming credit for this classy ’50s coupe.

Virgil Exner’s claim is that the Karmann-Ghia’s styling was cribbed from his earlier Chrysler d’Elegance. However, there are those who believe that Boano provided the design impetus for the Karman-Ghia. This is certainly backed up by several Boano-designed cars which predate the Karman-Ghia — the Alfa Romeo 6C2500S convertible of 1949, and the Lancia Aurelia limousine from 1950. Indeed, some have noted that it is quite probable that Exner’s d’Elegance car drew its inspiration from Boano, who took over Carozzeria Ghia in 1944.

Interestingly, Ghia built Chrysler’s d’Elegance show car in 1953, and then went on to produce 400 GS1 d’Elegance look-alike cars for Charles Ladouche’s Societe France Motors, a company based in Paris which specialized in importing VW and Chrysler vehicles.

However, styling issues aside, what isn’t under dispute is that the Karmann-Ghia project was developed under a cloak of secrecy, and began when Luigi Serge of Ghia purchased a standard VW Beetle from Charles Ladouche in early 1953.

Ghia then built a prototype on the Beetle’s chassis and showed off the results to Karmann — the German coach-building firm which had already made a name for itself by designing and producing a cabriolet based on the VW Beetle.

In turn, Karmann presented the car to VW. The response was immediate and a deal was quickly struck — Karmann would build the new coupe, and VW would sell it. The first car was produced in June 1955, essentially little more than a stylish, coupe version of the standard Beetle and christened as the Karmann-Ghia after a suggestion by Dr Karmann.

More Power

In September 1955, the Karmann-Ghia was officially launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show and immediately received accolades for its smoothly rounded styling.

Many reviewers instantly labelled the new car as a distinctive fashion statement — automotive haute couture. This was probably a good thing. The chic coupe may have added aerodynamic refinement to the upright Beetle, but the Karmann-Ghia’s performance only offered a marginal improvement over the iconic saloon. To be sure, it shaved over 10 seconds off the Beetle’s 60mph time — but 35 seconds was hardly drag-strip material. As well, the Karmann-Ghia’s 1192cc air-cooled four-banger — delivering a measly 22kW (30bhp) — meant that reaching the car’s supposed maximum speed of 120kph (74mph) probably required a downhill stretch of road and a strong tailwind.

During the course of its long production life, the Karmann-Ghia coupe (joined by a cabriolet model in 1957) gained larger engines and more power — the final 1974 models being powered by a 37kW (50bhp) 1584cc air-cooled VW motor.

However, there were many VW enthusiasts who craved more power still, and began turning to air-cooled Porsche-power for their vehicles. With the 1959 introduction of the Chevrolet Corvair — powered by an air-cooled six-cylinder engine — another avenue was opened.

Grass Track Champion

This is an appropriate time to bring the name of Doug Bremner into our story.

During the ’60s, the Manurewa-based Bremner was a foreman mechanic at P & R Motors in Papakura, South Auckland — a company owned by two famous motor racing legends, Paul Fahey and Ralph Emson. Fahey’s race cars were renowned for their speed and reliability, a factor which Fahey always credited to his extremely efficient service team. Indeed, Fahey was probably one of the first Kiwi racers to bring an air of professionalism into the local racing scene — and, behind the scenes, Doug Bremner was one of those who helped to secure Fahey’s predominant position on the national racing stage.

However, Bremner wasn’t content to simply sit in the wings, forging his own, very successful motor sport career. He was an early member of the Auckland Car Club and Bremner, usually co-driving with one of his bosses, Ralph Emson, also became something of a endurance racing specialist, competing in many Wills Six Hour and Benson & Hedges 500 races in a variety of cars. In 1965, Bremner and Emson finished third at the B&H 500 in their Alfa Romeo saloon, only beaten by the winning 3.8 Jaguar and the similar Alfa Romeo driven by Ross and Syd Jensen.

Bremner’s finest circuit achievements came in 1967 and 1968 when he shared the driving of a tiny Simca 1000 with Emson at the B&H 500. Despite only delivering 37kW (50bhp) from their 944cc engines, the Simcas took the top three places in the under 1000cc class in 1967. The following year they went one better, taking out the top four places in their class. Each time, the leading Simca was driven by Doug Bremner and Ralph Emson.

Subsequently, Bremner would also compete successfully on the circuit in cars such as the Fiat 1500, Triumph 2500PI, Holden Torana and Mercedes.

Despite his successes in circuit and long distance saloon racing, Bremner is probably best known for his grass-track and hill climb exploits — and it is at this point that he became linked with the VW marque.

During the early ’60s Bremner quickly became the man to beat on local grass tracks, and the car he drove was a VW Beetle into which he had grafted the Porsche 90 engine from his own 356.

When he first began grass-track racing there was really only one established venue in the North Island — Raglan. However, as paddock racing became more popular, more grass-tracks were added, and it wasn’t long until the informal series of races were added together to form the DR Filter Grasstrack Championship — with rounds being held in Whangerei, Raglan, Kerepehi and Rotorua. Later, a further round would be added at Taupo.

Bremner scored his first major win in the championship during the 1965/’66 season. Indeed, as well as securing the Grasstrack Championship he would be beaten only once during 30 race meetings, and he began to amass a sizeable collection of trophies and awards.

The Porsche-powered Beetle also proved remarkably successful on the hill climbing circuit, and Bremner was soon notching up wins at various North Island hill climbs.

As well, racing was very much a family affair for Bremner, and his wife and their daughter would accompany him to the race circuit — indeed, Mary Bremner also proved a successful pedaller, competing in several sprint races in her husband’s VW.

Following a major road accident — in which he suffered head and internal injuries — Bremner was forced into temporary retirement, only emerging four months later in winning style when he set the fastest time of the day at the Auckland Car Club’s Chamberlain Road hill climb.

As on the grass tracks, Bremner proved a force to be reckoned with in hill climbing and, on one notable occasion, he even managed to beat Jim Boyd’s legendary Lycoming Special. Indeed, many of the hill climb records set by Bremner still stand to this day.

Corvair Power

Searching for more power, Bremner eventually returned the Porsche motor back to his 356, and in its place he dropped a Chevrolet Corvair motor into his trusty old Beetle. With the Corvair’s six-cylinder, air-cooled engine in situ Bremner continued his winning ways, including scoring the Goldstar Hillclimb Saloon Championship for 1973-’74.

Bremner also raced the VW-Corvair on circuits such as Pukekohe and Teretonga, often in the company of his best friend, Ian Bloxham, who raced a very quick VW Beetle.

Bloxham’s car was probably the first NZ-based Beetle to take advantage of an Okrasa performance kit. VW enthusiasts will know of Okrasa, but for those less familiar with VW folklore — Oettinger Kraftfahrtechnische Spezial Anstalt was the name of the company founded by Gerhard Oettinger in 1951 to specialise in performance parts for the VW. Two Okrasa kits were available — the TS-1200 and the TS-1300/30. These kits became popular in the US during the mid ’50s, and both offered tangible performance benefits, boasting a 30 per cent increase in power — giving the Beetle performance on a par with a period Porsche 356.

Karmann-Ghia-Corvair

Following his eventual retirement from front-line racing, Doug and Mary Bremner settled down in Drury, but Bremner continued his love affair with the motor car — tinkering with the cars in his collection, which included two Beetles (1954 and 1958 models) and the Porsche 356 which had originally donated its engine to his VW-Porsche.

As a reminder of his B&H racing days, he also owned a Holden Torana GTR XU-1.

Bremner’s final project, before succumbing to cancer in July 2006, was our featured Karmann-Ghia.

Using the experience he had gained with his championship-winning VW-Corvair Bremner he completely restored the Karmann, turning his chic and stylish coupe into a genuine performance car.

As a side note, Bremner’s Corvair-Beetle was sold to Rod Atkinson of Waiuku, who still campaigns this car very successfully in local events.

Very few Corvair-powered Karmann-Ghias have been built, but this was one project that Bremner had always promised himself he would undertake. A full body-off restoration was completed on the car, with all panel, paint and mechanical work being handled by Bremner in the same home workshop that he had used to restore several vintage cars during the course of his retirement.

The results, as you can see, are quite stunning. Apart from the obvious addition of Porsche 356 wheels, this car looks remarkably original — the surprise comes when you pop the engine cover or, indeed, when the Corvair motor is fired into action; no VW in the world sounds as good as this car!

Following his death, Bremner’s two Beetles were sold by Turners Auctions while the Porsche and Torana were passed onto his children. The Karmann-Ghia also remained in the family, with Doug’s younger sister, Elaine, purchasing it with her husband, Terry.

For Elaine, the acquisition of her brother’s final project car holds great sentimental value — a fitting reminder and tribute to one of New Zealand’s best grass-track and hill climb competitors.

Trouble Free

Today, the Chevrolet Corvair enjoys cult status in the US — despite having been roundly criticised in Ralph Nader’s infamous book, Unsafe At Any Speed — and the Corvair’s engine has since become a favourite repower option for those seeking extra horses for their VW saloon, Kombi or beach buggy. It is still possible to buy VW conversion kits for the Corvair engine in the US — the conversion involves a gearbox adaptor plate, flywheel and a ‘reverse rotation’ camshaft and distributor drive which allows the Corvair engine to run in reverse (clockwise) direction, so that it can be successfully mated with the standard VW transmission.

Doug Bremner’s home-built Karmann-Ghia-Corvair now lives a life of luxury with Terry and Elaine — they try to avoid taking it out on rainy days and, as Terry points out, using all the car’s 104kW (140bhp) on wet roads is something that can only be done with a certain amount of care.

However, the Ghia receives regular weekend use. It has covered around 8000 kilometres over the last 2½ years and has been present at many local and national car shows and events — their most recent trip being a trouble-free and enjoyable journey to the VW Nationals in the Hawkes Bay.

Specs

1957 VW Karmann-Ghia-Corvair

Engine: Chevrolet Corvair air-cooled, horizontally-opposed six-cylinder

Capacity: 2687cc (164ci)

Fuel System: Four Rochester carburettors

Max power: 104kW (140bhp) at 5200rpm

Max torque: 217Nm (160lb/ft) at 3600rpm

Wheels: Porsche 15-inch chrome

Tyres: Dunlop 195/55R15 (front); 195/70R15 (rear)

A few weeks ago, Ashley spent a day with members of the Waikato and Auckland Volkswagen Clubs to learn about their hobby — Volkswagens and, in particular, Beetles

In preparation for this article the more I read, the more fascinated I became with the history of Volkswagen and its origin. It didn’t take long for me to realise why this ‘people’s car’ of Germany has such a passionate global following.

Today, the Volkswagen with its distinct shape and unique engine sound enjoys worldwide cult status, and is quite possibly the most popular small family car in the world.

Volkswagen means ‘people’s car’ and, in pre-1930s Germany, this wasn’t exactly a new idea, there having been many attempts to create a basic, simple car that would be affordable by the masses. However, until the Beetle none even came close to seeing the light of day. Contrary to common belief, these failures weren’t down to poor design — it simply proved impossible to achieve the levels of affordability required by the average German worker.

In the beginning

Then along came Dr Ing h.c Ferdinand Porsche. In 1933, Dr Porsche not only had an enviable reputation as a talented engineer, earned through his own consulting company, but had also been chief designer for Daimler-Benz and Auto Union.

In the summer of 1933, Porsche was summoned to the Hotel Kaiserhof in Berlin for a covert meeting with German dictator, Adolf Hitler, to learn of the Führer’s plans for a new German car. Hitler outlined his aspirations for a small four-seater car with a reliable and durable air-cooled engine capable of achieving 7.1l/100km (40mpg). This car would be called ‘Volkswagen’, and Hitler stipulated that it should sell below RM1000 (roughly equivalent to US$250).

This sounded like a tall order, as Porsche knew it would be virtually impossible to build a car for that price — it had even been beyond Henry Ford. What Porsche wasn’t aware of was that Hitler intended to use Volkswagen as a political promise to win Germans over to the National Socialist regime. Mussolini had made Italian trains more reliable; Hitler wanted to give the Germans a car, perhaps to disguise his larger misdeeds.

At the Berlin International Automobile Show less than a year later, in an emotional speech Hitler announced to the German people the promise of a small, low priced car. An official order was given to Porsche to produce three prototypes ready for testing within 10 months. The German Automobile Manufacturers’ Society had been ordered to provide component parts for the project, effectively ensuring the entire industry was supporting the project.

However, Porsche was still concerned that the RM1000 price limit was unachievable; but he also knew that no one dared challenge the orders of Adolf Hitler — so work began.

Volksauto

In actual fact, unbeknown to Hitler, Porsche had come up with a similar idea years earlier and had already designed and built a small car closely resembling Hitler’s Volkswagen in conjunction with NSU in 1932. But, because they never came close to the desired production cost, NSU and Porsche dropped the idea.

Even the name — Volksauto — was similar, and this rear-engined, air-cooled machine might just be what the German Chancellor was looking for. Porsche, a perfectionist by nature, refused to rush the project, choosing to resurrect and redesign the Volksauto in an established workshop in his own private garage. Coinciding with this project, Porsche was building race cars for Auto Union and eventually became more obsessed with beating the Italians than conforming to Hitler’s whim.

Of course, Hitler did not consider his idea a whim, and kept promising the German public their volkswagen in speech after speech. Behind the scenes there was relentless pressure on Porsche as the German Automobile Association started to hold back, reluctant to participate in a project that might eventually lead to their demise. However, Hitler was not to be denied.

By 1935 the major American car manufacturers were in full swing, producing cars in great quantities using specialist machine tools and body dies. This was all so different to European production methods.

Armed with a stopwatch, Porsche visited the US and toured General Motors, Packard and Ford assembly lines, taking notes on the processes and equipment they employed.

Strength Through Joy

By 1936 three prototypes were ready, and after rigorous road testing Porsche was satisfied with the final result. At the 1937 Automobile Show, Hitler announced that production of the German people’s car would soon commence. Hitler took firm control of the state economy, clamping down on all iron and steel allocations to other manufacturers.

Robert Ley, the malicious leader of the ‘Strength Through Joy’ movement, was recruited to set up the new factory and ruthlessly commandeered a private estate in Wolfsburg for the site. The Nazi finance machine now took a firm hold of the Volkswagen project.

Porsche required 30 completed cars before the factory was finished, and Daimler-Benz was ordered to fulfil the order for the hundreds of Storm Troopers who had been assigned to test the cars under the direction of Porsche’s son, Ferry.

Porsche recruited a team of German-speaking American engineers and technicians from the US for the new factory, and it wasn’t long before American mass production techniques were fully operational in Nazi Germany.

However, only two months before Hitler ceremoniously laid the cornerstone of the new Wolfsburg factory — a huge event witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people and 150 reporters, all controlled by the Nazi propaganda machine Germany had occupied Austria, and two days after the ceremony had given orders for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. Eleven months later the Nazi machine marched into Poland. The German people marched behind Hitler, and the Volkswagen propaganda exercise remained an unfulfilled promise.

With WWII now underway the Wolfsburg factory was commissioned to produce military vehicles. The car was redesigned by Porsche to accommodate a larger engine, strengthened transmission and upgraded suspension components for the open four-seater body. Basically, this was a rear-engined jeep; the advantage of the wartime VW was its incredible light weight of only 499kg.

This hugely versatile vehicle could serve on all fronts; from the muddy bogs of Poland to the sub-zero temperatures of Russia and the hot sands of the North African desert. A special amphibious model was also built with a propeller and rudder. It was capable of a steady 24kph in water and 80kph on land.

Occupation force

It was only after the war that Volkswagen finally fulfilled Hitler’s promise, but on a worldwide basis. After the cessation of hostilities, Germany was divided into quarters and, as the Wolfsburg factory was located in the British sector, it fell under control of the British. Major Ivan Hirst was brought in to assess the possibility of starting up production of the Beetle as transport for the occupying forces.

Hundreds of workers and refugees applied for jobs. The British authorities put them to work just to keep them busy, and eventually put the Volkswagen into production. Much of the machinery had survived the bombing, having been stored in the basement. Cars were put together with old stock and whatever parts could be found.

In 1946, 13 years after Hitler’s original promise, the factory was producing about 1000 cars a month, and this time it really was for the people. The cars went on sale; first in Germany, then throughout Europe. In 1948, former BMW designer Dr Heinz Nordhoff was appointed as director of Volkswagen, and began his new role with the remarkable statement — “The future begins when you cut every tie with the past.”

The company prospered even after it was returned to the West German Government, and Nordhoff remained at the helm. Production soared and by 1955 had exceeded one million cars, the first time in European automobile history that a single car had reached this significant milestone. Nordhoff continued to establish one of the world’s largest service organisations, including a spare parts and service infrastructure that helped put the humble Volkswagen on the world map.

Novel advertising campaigns and a lustrous reputation for reliability and durability during the ’60s and early ’70s helped production figures to exceed the levels of the previous record holder, the Ford Model T, when Beetle #15,007,034 was produced on February 17, 1972; by 1973 total production was over 16 million, and by 2002 over 21 million Beetles had been produced.

The final Beetles

However, by the mid ’70s the writing was on the wall as sales began dropping off in the US due to increasingly modern Japanese cars being offered to the market. Volkswagen had unsuccessfully attempted to replace the aging Beetle throughout the ’60s with the Type 3, Type 4 (411) and K70, and finally decided to switch the production lines at Wolfsburg to the new water-cooled Golf in 1974. By 2002 total production of the VW Golf, at 22 million units, overtook that of the Beetle.

Production of the Volkswagen Beetle continued on a much smaller scale in other German factories until 1978, when mainstream production shifted to Brazil and Mexico. The last Beetle was produced in Mexico in mid-2003, with a final batch of 3000 special edition Beetles badged as Ultima Edicions, boasting whitewall tyres, additional chrome trim and a choice of two special paint colours.

Production in Brazil continued until 1988, then restarted from 1993 until 1996. By 2003, Beetle annual production had fallen to 30,000 from a staggering 1.3 million in 1971. On July 30, 2003, the final original VW Beetle (#21,529,464) was produced at Pueblo, Mexico, some 65 years since its public launch in Nazi Germany, after an unprecedented 58-year production run since 1945. The last car was immediately shipped back to Wolfsburg to reside in VW’s museum.

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Adam Croy

Is there a more iconic classic commercial world-wide than what we have come to know as the VW Kombi?

It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, the USA, UK, continental Europe, Australia or New Zealand. People know what it is, and most associate them with good times, the ’50s, more so the ’60s, the ’70s and even well into the ’80s. There are not many commercial vehicles that almost guarantee a warm and happy smile from all generations, and some very happy memories, too.

Whilst all over the world everyone knows it’s a Volkswagen, and everyone knows Volkwagens are German, this icon is connected strongly with the hippy era, and in London and Europe it’s associated with Australians and New Zealanders.

In London in the ’70s Australian wannabe racing driver Alan Jones had to make some money to fi nance his motor racing aspirations. He hit upon the idea of buying VW Kombis from young Antipodeans, finishing their OEs and desperate to get rid of them, then selling them to incoming Antipodeans needing to find transport for their new OE adventure. Eventually those travellers began to bring them back to the cunning young race driver, giving him instant turnover.

Jones won the World Championship in 1980, and he owed it to the VW microbus, as well as a talent for driving, being in the right place at the right time and knowing what to do about it.

Peace and love

For something that was so heavily associated with peace and love to have risen from the ashes of war and hate comes as a bit of a surprise, but the rise of the VW Beetle and the Transporter that followed on from it was one of the first indications of successful cooperation between the English and the Germans.

Major Hirst of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers took command of the Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg in August 1945, arranging supplies for production of the VW Beetle car in a war-shattered country. Transport for supplies to and around the massive factory were limited to electric trucks and fork-lifts that Hirst borrowed from his unit, which naturally was part of the Allied Forces. The Forces desperately needed the fork lifts for their own operations and other rebuilding projects. To replace them Major Hirst had a fleet of crudely-constructed flat-bed trucks made, utilising a Beetle platform with a rudimentary cab placed at the rear over the engine.

In 1948 Ben Pon, the Dutch Volkswagen importer on a visit to the factory, saw one of these vehicles and hit upon an idea. He showed his sketch to the Allied commander, but at the time they were so flat out building Beetles there wasn’t the capacity for anything else.

Pon didn’t give up though, and discussed his idea with Heinz Nordhoff, who became director when the Allies passed control back to German civilians. Nordhoff had a test mule made, which proved two things — the idea was good, but there was no way a normal Beetle platform could support the load; and a completely new monocoque would have to be made. To give ground clearance necessary for a commercial the driveshafts met with drop gears at the wheel hubs. In February 1950, the fi rst VW

Transporter was assembled.

‘Transporter’ was the offi cial name of the Volkswagen light commercial, a name that remains with it today, although every country has its own pet name for them; Microbus in the USA, Kombi over here. The fi rst Transporters were panel vans and in May 1950, the Kombi followed, with or without seats, and an ambulance version was launched in November.

The maximum power available was 19kW (25bhp) at 3300rpm, and a maximum torque of only 69Nm at 2000rpm, which had to push along 975kg plus a load of 750kg, so the VW engineers worked out they needed to make the vehicle cheat the air as smartly as possible, hence the rounded front prow and famous split screen at the front of the box-shaped cabin. Top speed was a remarkable 100kph and they can cruise all day at maximum speed.

Million-seller

The Transporter got synchromesh on its top three gears and a 25 per cent increase in power from a new 1192cc engine in 1954, which was also the time that right-hand drive became available, and shortly afterwards production moved from Wolfsburg to Hanover, when production ramped up to 250 vans per day.

The 1,000,000th Transporter was delivered in August 1961, by which time the van had gained more power, indicators, the option of a cab heater and many different variants, including camper vans fitted out by companies like Devon in the UK and Westfalia in Germany.

The Transporter fi nally got nearly enough grunt in 1963 with a 1497cc, 31kW (42bhp) motor before the famous ‘splitty’ got replaced with the ‘bay’ in 1967. The VW commercial now had enough power to push along a squared-off front, and with that styling change the famous opening split windscreens disappeared in favour of a modern one-piece ‘bay’ window.

Splitty

Our featured Kombi was one of the last splitties made, in 1966. Its T1C means that it is a Type One (split window) with the C denoting the third major set of revisions. The VW Microbus appears in plenty of contemporary movies and songs, so it is appropriate the owner of this example is a singer/songwriter and musician. His name is Steve Edwards, and he returned from an extended OE with an English wife and a desire to own a VW motor caravan.

Steve says, “My wife has always had an interest in Kombis, she travelled around Australia in one back in ’98! I too have always admired the classic shape and robustness of these VW Classics.”

Steve’s daily transport in the UK had been an MG Midget and then a Triumph Spitfi re. He based himself in Maidenhead, in Berkshire, where he met his future wife, Heidi, who is a yoga instructor. “When we decided to move back to NZ from England to pursue my musical career (I am from Greymouth and my Heidi is from Maidenhead), we talked about getting a Kombi. It was a bit of a role reversal really, as a lot of Kiwis go to the UK and travel around Europe in a Kombi.

“Having done extensive searching on the internet we could not fi nd one, but on April 19, 2006, we managed to locate a restoration project in Nelson — coincidentally the place we were coming to fi rst to get married. It seemed fated and the rest is history; I purchased the vehicle from Gary Calderbank, got local VW expert John Manshande on board and we were off!”

Blood sweat and tears

Steve says, “Little did I know what blood, sweat and tears were to come, not to mention about $85,000. To date 229 emails have been written between us regarding this resto! “I sourced parts from Australia, the US, and Europe, and also found good local people to help with the whole project. We wanted to keep it as original as possible, but have some goodies like 230-volt electrics, a TV/DVD player, surround sound speakers, heart rimu cabinetry and cream upholstery, with some nice chrome wheels and a special hammock to hang out of the back and tie to a tree, or any other convenient object.”

John Manshande of John’s Repair Shop in Nelson oversaw the whole process and did all mechanical work. It’s got a 1600cc engine from a slightly later model, but otherwise Steve has tried to keep the camper in period. Andrew of Campro in Nelson did all the joinery and cabinetwork,

Jamie of Automotive Vision took care of the panel and paintwork, as well as stainless fl oors and upholstery protection. Ian of Mortimer Upholstery made all the furnishing, including squabs for sleeping on, and then it was left to Gary at Auto Electrical in Nelson to wire it all up.

Sunny

Steve continues, “We had the normal issues; wrong parts arriving, parts breaking, paintwork chemical reactions, it seemed at times that all that could go wrong would go wrong. I even coordinated things while on honeymoon in South Africa, and due to delays — and upon returning to NZ — was apart from my new wife (she stayed in Auckland to find work) for six weeks while sorting out the final stages of the resto.” Now that is dedication!

“Finally! Finished on February 13, 2007, I left Nelson bound for Titirangi with ‘Sunny’, our new camper (named after the red setter we had in the UK). What an impact this vehicle made on the public as I drove up to Auckland. It felt as if I was Mick Jagger! So many stares and honks on the horn. People just love these vehicles. I also had an offer to sell on the Interislander ferry (sorry, it’s not for sale unless we are in six figures of course!).”

Steve has yet to establish his music in New Zealand. Have a listen to it on www.myspace.com/ste-veedwardsmusic or www.steveedwardsmusic.com — perhaps you can help the couple to recoup the cost of this loving restoration! Driving around Titirangi’s winding roads and stopping at the local bays it was a real pleasure to listen to this happy young couple telling us their story, with the fl at four puttering away in the back. Once again the VW Kombi reminded us of the simple pleasures in life.

1966 VW TRANSPORTER KOMBI T1C

Engine Four in-line, air-cooled
Valves ohv
Capacity 1493cc
Bore/ stroke 83.1 x 69.1mm
C/R 7.8:1
Fuel system Solex single-barrel carburettor
Max power 37kW (50bhp) at 3900rpm
Transmission Four-speed manual
Production years for series 1950-1967
New price $2604
Words: Tim Nevison Photos: Quinn Hamill

For VW, the sports car market has always seemed to be a blind alley. However, blind alleys don’t have to be dark and dingy. In the case of the VW Corrado it was more a pleasant cul-de-sac

Volkswagen had never made a true sports car before — some would say it still hadn’t — when the Corrado was introduced in 1990. In many ways it represented the rebirth of the famous Karmann-Ghia, except that despite being much sportier, it was less successful sale-wise.

The business case for the Corrado was based on filling a gap left by the now defunct Porsche 924, for a high quality sports coupe. VW clearly hadn’t taken account of how much of the 924’s relative success was due to it being called a Porsche.

Like its forbear, the Corrado body was once again built by Karmann in Osnabrück, but, as far as we know, only prototype convertibles were built — a shame as this was something that Karmann did particularly well. The lack of a convertible and the fact that it was a full four seater failed to convince the market that the Corrado was a true sports car, something that VW tried very hard to emphasize in its sales literature. It had the disadvantage of appearing to directly replace the VW Scirroco, which finished production in 1988, once again, a fine car with attractive styling, but no sports car. Billed as Volkswagen’s “first full-blooded sports car,” the Corrado measured 6.3 inches shorter than the Scirocco, but nearly three inches longer in wheelbase. It was also two inches wider and weighed some 450 pounds more.

Golf Handicap

Both the Scirroco and Corrado had one huge rival that they could not shake off — the VW Golf GTi. It was difficult to make a case for either when presented against this much cheaper but nearly as effective bread and butter hot-hatch. I don’t believe, despite VW’s press releases, that the Corrado was ever seen as anything but a hot hatch, or nicely clothed Golf by car buyers at large, although those who got to drive them were immediately smitten.The Corrado was designed to compete with the Celica, Starion, RX-7 and Prelude, but VW believed its essentially European appeal would attract a rather different customer.

Based on the Golf/Jetta platform, the Corrado got standard four-wheel disc brakes, with anti-locking optional. A comfortable four-seater, Corrados featured an ‘active’ rear spoiler which extended automatically when the car reached 50kph to reduce aerodynamic lift by 60% at high speeds. As speed dropped below 20kph, the spoiler retracted again. It was no gimmick apparently and made a noticeable difference to stability over 100kph, which is when the spoiler eased out of the body on German market versions.

Following a recent Volkswagen tradition, the Corrado was named after a Spanish wind, like the Scirocco, Jetta, Vento and Golf. The name is also taken from the Spanish verb ‘Correr’, which means to run or to sprint; precisely what Corrado was designed to do. The 1987 prototype, named ‘Typhoon’, featured the 136bhp (101kW) version of the 1781cc engine that has helped the Golf GTi 16V storm the sales charts. This engine had proved an enormous hit in Formula 3 racing and endowed the aerodynamically smoother (0.32 drag coefficient) Corrado body with a top speed was of 132mph (212kph), whilst its all-important 0-100kph dash took just over 8 seconds.

Surcharge

Volkswagen launched its front-drive, hatchback sports car in 1990 with a supercharged eight-valve version of the four-cylinder engine used in the Golf called the Corrado G60. The 1.8-litre supercharged engine produced 158bhp (119kW), driving a five-speed manual transmission. Dubbed ‘G-Charger’ or ‘G-lader’ in Germany, the engine had a crankshaft-driven supercharger shaped like the letter G. The supercharged G60 developed 160bhp (119kW) giving a top speed of 140mph (225kph) with 0-100kph coming up in 7.5 seconds.

The supercharger was designed to give the performance of a turbocharged motor but without the turbo lag which effected cars with that technology at the time. Performance of the supercharged coupe was similar to that of the current 139bhp (104kW) Golf 16V because the G-Lader takes 16bhp to run at full load and the Corrado is also a good 150kg heavier than the Golf.

Whilst the supercharger was less evident than a turbo to the occupants, giving a slight whine but no huge blasting noise, the crank driven advantage was slightly lost by the length of the induction system. The pressurised air travels from the blower across the engine bay to an intercooler and back to the inlet of the Digifant electronic injection; A long column of air to move, even at the turbine’s 11,000rpm maximum.Peak torque was l661b/ft at 4000rpm, and 100lb/ft from 2500 to 5600rpm.

As presented the G-lader was an interesting piece of technology which was strong and powerful but had neither the surging mid-range gallop of a turbo or the instant thump of a big capacity unit. What it did give was impressive flexibility without the revs needed in the 16V version. Performance was deceptive rather than impressive.

The chassis was first class; better than the GTI’s, good though that was, since it managed to have less roll and yet feel more compliant over the rough stuff, which VW achieved by employing very long springs. A MacPherson strut front end and the torsion-beam rear with its selective-deformable mountings with fore-and-aft compliance conferred a small, measured dose of rear-wheel steer at high cornering forces. The tuned rear suspension mounting bushes reduced road noise and thump at the same time as neutralizing the natural understeer, meaning you had to charge hard at a corner to break the grip at the front or rear.

Pay Dirt

There is no question that the Corrado has excellent road manners and a fair turn of speed. It also had quite individual styling at the time, and was a car for the discerning customer. The major problem that Volkswagen had was in persuading discerning customers to drive the GTi and Corrado back to back, and then even if they did, convince them that the excellent handling was worth the extra money, and with the G60, the extra complication.

The Corrado did not hit pay dirt until Volkswagen installed the narrow angle V6 towards the end of its life. The customers could now easily justify the additional style and expense because of the smoother, silkier, torquey engine which clearly differentiated the Corrado and convincingly took it out of the hot hatch arena, and into the refined sports coupe market.

Either way, the Corrado would not enjoy a long production run, and was a victim of the Golf GTi’s success, particularly when the Golf cabriolet version came along. VW needed the production space taken up by the Corrado for the the Golf cabriolet, which was a real money spinner. In total Karmann produced 97,521 Corrados which will ensure that in years to come it will be a bit of a collector’s piece.

In driving these cars today it is apparent that they, like most VWs, are extremely well built, and typically Germanic inside, lacking the sense of occasion of an Alfa for example, but simple, efficient and well equipped.

The Supercharged car did feel like it had more torque, but not so much that it felt more lively overall than the modified white four valve car, which really went like the wind (ahem). The gearchange in the Corrado is excellent and really helps the driving experience. All of them handled well, giving very faithful turn-in and grip, but the modifications to the white car made it easily the most rewarding of the bunch. I guess the true test would have been to have checked out the Golf GTi at the same time to show what everyone was missing by passing over a sports car in casual clothes, in favour of a sedan in a track suit. However, the VW sports car (in casual clothes) has an enthusiastic bunch of Kiwis  who will ensure that these rare cars do not become extinct.

The G-Lader

Conventionally boosting engine torque is achieved by increasing swept volume. The alternative is to supercharge by means of exhaust driven turbo or a mechanical supercharger. VW chose to develop a supercharger despite wide experience with diesel turbos.

As a principle, supercharging was certainly known about in the 19th century and many of the classic cars of the ‘20s and ‘30s were ‘blown’. By far the most popular supercharger was the Roots-type with interlocking rotors. In 1905 a Frenchman, Louis Creux had the idea of squeezing air between two interlocking scrolls, metal sheets wound into a simple snail-shell shape. These moved relative to one another in such a way that, as the air was hustled between the fixed and the moving scroll, it was also compressed. In 1905, Creux’s idea worked beautifully on paper but not in practice.

Even if the materials had been available, the technology necessary to machine and assemble the parts with sufficient accuracy was not. Volkswagen’s research and development engineering department felt that if these problems could be solved with 80s technology, the G-Lader might overcome the drawbacks of other kinds of mechanical supercharging, principally high operating noise and narrow speed bands of peak efficiency.

The problems were indeed overcome with the aid of hard work and genuine innovation in the area of casting and then machining the scroll profiles. In its definitive form the G-Lader contains two scrolls, one fixed and the other driven, between two end- plates. The end-plates and the fixed scroll, which form a single assembly, are of aluminium alloy. The driven scroll is made of magnesium alloy to keep its inertia low. In its fully developed form the G-Lader is deceptively simple. The moving scroll is driven by a simple eccentric mechanism which gives it exactly the right motion relative to the fixed scroll. The original drive comes from the engine crankshaft via a poly-V belt, automatically tensioned.

The air intake lies at the periphery of the scroll housing, and each wedge of intake air, squeezed tighter as it is pushed round, finally exits at the centre. There is no contact between the moving and fixed scrolls (just as there is no contact between the lobes of a Roots blower) and the efficiency of the unit depends on maintaining a close but consistent separation ” hence the need for precise manufacture.

The G-Lader delivers reasonable air pressure much sooner than an equivalent turbocharger, mainly because its own output depends purely on its driven speed and not on the engine load. In fact there are several points in the speed range where it delivers too much boost, and in these phases a linkage direct to the throttle ensures that a bleed valve redirects surplus air. Volkswagen made the G-Lader reliable and quiet with no special lubrication requirements. It matches engine outputs more closely to actual road driving by boosting lower and mid range torque without lifting peak power too much. The maximum output of the G-Lader (for a given maximum speed of around 11,000rpm) can be varied by altering the width of the scrolls, keeping the end-plates standard.

Corrado Timeline

1990: First production cars were all G-60, left hand drive only, the 16V RHD becoming available later in the year.

1991: Four-speed automatic transmission became available, and wider (205/50VR15) tyres on new BBS alloy wheels. Leather upholstery and a theft-alarm system also joined the options list.

1993: Minor facelift. The G60 is replaced by the narrow angle 15 degree V6. Front suspension redesigned, and new five-spoke wheels were used. Standard equipment now included antilock brakes, and electronic differential lock.

1995: Production of the Corrado ends

Our Featured Corrados

1990 VW Corrado 16V (red): Owned by Neil Penfold for one year. Standard specification, New Zealand new.

1990 VW Corrado 16V (white): Owned for last four years by Aaron Ross. UK import in 1996 and modified by BR Motorsports in the UK, head, Schrick cams. Fitted with 2.0L block in New Zealand with Miltec headers. Lowered by 40mm with 16-inch Porsche replica wheels.

1990 VW Corrado 16V (blue): Four New Zealand owners, now owned by Tristan Zlami who only purchased the car a week before our test.

1992 VW Corrado G60 (red/with flash): Originally imported from Singapore, this car has been owned by Timothy Ousley for last three years, and remains original apart from aftermarket alloys.

1990 VW Corrado 16v (white): Stock standard, New Zealand new car owned for two years by Ian Fraser.

Stark utility is the overriding impression when you first see Ivan Fuller’s 1947 Volkswagen, the oldest Beetle in New Zealand

He apologised in advance for any noises he might extract from the ‘crash’ gearbox, giving the excuse he was out of practice. Ivan drove gently for a few kilometres until the engine was properly warm. He soon demonstrated the 25bhp (18kW) engine’s good performance in second and third gears — ideal ratios for the winding country roads where he lives. At the risk of upsetting Porsche 911 owners, there were times when the little flat four gave a fair aural impersonation of its delicious and distant flat
six cousin.

Ivan also demonstrated the typical Beetle tail-happiness. He has been a VW nut for a long time, starting with a Beetle he bought many years ago and soon put on its roof. Being of an analytical nature, he had to buy another to find out why it happened and how not to do it again.

Ian’s Beetle, carrying the registration number ‘PRETZL’, cruised happily on the open road at about 85kph, giving the impression it would do so forever. The theoretical top speed is 100kph, which PRETZL can slightly exceed. It’s no museum piece — Ivan bought and restored the car to use, even though there is a cost in doing so. He has driven it to Nelson and to Queenstown on another trip, as well as many kilometres in the North Island, so he knows it will in fact cruise all day at 85kph, day after day.

The controls are suitably basic in keeping with the rest of the car: in addition to the ignition key and starter button, a large speedometer is flanked by two switches — one for lights and one for the windscreen wipers (described by Ivan as toy wipers). A knob in the upper middle of the dash operates the direction semaphores, and there are warning lights for oil pressure, generator and high beam. There is no fuel gauge, just a lever on the passenger side foot well to switch to ‘reserve’ when the petrol tank runs low. There are also two buttons on the floor, one being the ‘Luftclapper’ and the other marked ‘H’ for heat. Obviously, a new owner would not need a 90-minute tutorial on how to operate the car.

New Zealand’s Oldest Beetle

Volkswagen No 1-071167 was manufactured in November 1947, in the Wolfsburg factory that still had wartime holes in the roof and was run by the Royal EME. A British commission headed by Sir William Rootes visited the factory shortly after World War II and confidently predicted it would fall down of its own accord within two years. The commission also predicted no future for the car being produced there!

At the time, occupying Allied forces requisitioned all production and it appears only civilians with the right military connections could acquire a car. A few early Beetles found their way to New Zealand with returning servicemen and Ivan’s was one of them, possibly arriving at Ohakea with a Sergeant Leon Gribble. A friend of Ivan’s has confirmed seeing several Beetles at Ohakea soon after the war.

There is a gap in its history from then until the beginning of its ownership papers in 1962. From that date the car spent most of its time in the Manawatu-Wanganui area. Harry Duynhoven, Member of Parliament for New Plymouth and well known VW and Porsche enthusiast, discovered the car in Hamilton some 20 years ago. He knew from its split rear window that it was an early one, but didn’t realise until later that he had found New Zealand’s oldest Beetle. The car sat in Harry’s shed for some years and it took Ivan the best part of 10 years to convince Harry to sell. The claim to being New Zealand’s oldest Beetle is based on a difference of 20 or 30 in chassis numbers between Ivan’s car and the next oldest. As he noted, they were probably made on same day in November 1947. PRETZL is one of about 30 Beetles of 1947 vintage on a worldwide VW register.

Reconstruction

When Ivan acquired the Beetle it moved to a succession of panel shops as a downtime restoration project, without making any progress. Eventually, he took it to Craig’s Panel and Paint at Manaia where, although its priority status was theoretically unchanged, a great deal of work was done on the body. Every attempt was made to ensure it was correct in even the most minor detail, including internal structures that would never be seen again. As the panel work was nearing its end, Ivan found himself between jobs, so he worked fulltime on the car at Stuart Craig’s workshop for six months. He carried out most of the work from that point on — finishing the panel work, body assembly and pre-paint preparation.

The glaring difference, especially on a sunny day, was the bright work on the later car. It’s not hard to have more bright work than none

Ivan painted the car in single pack paint for ease of touch-up work. It is the correct shade of KdF Grey, which was like Henry Ford’s black: ‘Any colour you like, as long as¦’ However, it seems the British Coal Board received a fleet of appropriately black cars, some maroon examples went to the USSR and the US may have got some blue cars.

‘PRETZL’ was very incomplete when Ivan bought it — just a rolling body with one door and the wrong engine. Parts were imported from Germany, Ireland, the US and Australia, as well as being sourced from throughout New Zealand or specially made. Some were unobtainable and Ivan was not prepared to pay exorbitant prices for a few others. Consequently, he pointed out a few incorrect items, such as the headlight lenses and the seat upholstery not being replaced because he could not find the correct material.

Ivan’s eye for detail extended to sourcing the correct brand of German bolts of the correct head size. In fact, as we chatted our way through an afternoon, it became clear Ivan is no ordinary car enthusiast/restorer. He works to standards I can only dream of, aiming to faithfully reproduce what would have been and only reluctantly settling for compromise when there is clearly no option. When I suggested that being so fussy could be both a blessing and a curse, he agreed, but clearly sees it more as a blessing.
Ivan is a cabinetmaker by trade and his standards of workmanship got him involved in the first super yacht built by Fitzroy Engineering in New Plymouth. As an unexpected bonus, he was a member of the crew that delivered the multi-million dollar craft to Europe. On his return he found himself between jobs again as there were no orders at that stage for further yachts.

He spent some time restoring cars as a fulltime occupation before starting a shift job. The restoration work continues during his days off. Current projects include a concours restoration of a Porsche 911 for an Auckland client, a 1937 Ford V8 coupe and a 1963 EH Holden Wagon. His own projects include an early oval back-window Beetle and a mid-fifties Kombi. His standards of workmanship are such he will never lack clients who expect the best. His name is destined to be well known in the classic car restoration field.

16 Years of progress

Several months after I first visited Ivan, I returned to compare PRETZL with a 1963 Beetle from Wellington he had recently finished restoring. While conceding it was possibly better than new in some respects, he said it was not done to Concours standard — a usable classic. Having said that, it subsequently won its class at the annual Easter VW Nationals.

It was an interesting comparison. The profiles were essentially the same from any angle. The glaring difference, especially on a sunny day, was the bright work on the later car. It’s not hard to have more bright work than none, but a considerable amount had been added in the intervening years to keep the Beetle more or less up with 1960s fashions. The other obvious difference, of course, was the later model’s rectangular back window. Less obvious was its deeper windscreen.

Sound-wise, the difference was definitely noticeable. The later car’s quiet, traditionally smooth sounding engine contrasted strongly with PRETZL’s relatively loud agricultural noise. Also familiar was the satisfying ‘thunk’ of the newer car’s door closing, compared to PRETZL’s mechanical sounding counterpart.

Overall, the Volkswagen progressed in 16 years from a strictly utilitarian vehicle to a far more sophisticated one, albeit with basically the same simple running gear. PRETZL has not one unnecessary item, whereas the later car has more creature comforts and plenty of ornamentation. Luckily, this progress was made without losing any of the Beetle’s quirky charm. Ivan is not sure how many parts would be interchangeable between the two cars, but by 1967, the engine lid’s rubber seal was the only part in common with the 1947 model.

Strength Through Joy

When the forerunner of the Beetle was launched prior to the Second World War, it was to be made available to average citizens through a lay-by savings scheme allowing them to own a car in just over four years (a cunning plan to generate funds to build the factory). Responsibility for this finance scheme was given to a German labour organisation, the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF). When Adolf Hitler laid the cornerstone for the new car factory, he announced that the new car was to be called the KdF Wagen — the Kraft-durch-Freude Wagen or Strength through Joy Car!

By 1967, the engine lid’s rubber seal was the only part in common with the 1947 model

The factory was to be built adjacent to a new town, to be called Stadt des KdF, or KdF Town. Both projects were only partly completed before World War II. The town became Wolfsburg, the home of Volkswagen, and the rest is history. Pre-war prototypes carried the KdF logo, a cogged wheel, on every conceivable part. By the time Volkswagen production began after the war, the symbol was in disrepute, so it was progressively removed. However, in 1947 it still remained on many parts, which means later items are incorrect. This makes restoration of the earliest Beetles especially difficult.

Pretzel

Why PRETZEL? It seems that, when the Volkswagen first appeared, its two-piece back window reminded Germans of the shape of a beer pretzel. The nickname stuck, until the arrival of the one-piece oval rear window in 1953. About that time, the name Beetle came into vogue (or Bug in US), and has stuck ever since.
Interestingly, it was possible to buy a kit from your local VW dealer in the ’50s to convert your two-piece rear window to the one-piece style. A few owners who bought and installed that kit, or subsequent owners of modified cars, must have regretted it later.

Specifications: 1947 Volkswagen

Engine: Air-cooled overhead valve flat four cylinder

Capacity: 1131cc

Bore/stroke: 75x64mm

C/ratio: 5.8:1

Max power: 25bhp (18kW) @ 3200rpm

Fuel System: mechanical fuel pump, Solex carburettor, 40-litre tank

Transmission: four-speed, non-synchromesh manual

Axle ratio: 4.43:1

Body/chassis: Two door, four seat, all steel body

Suspension: Front: transverse laminated torsion bars, short single acting telescopic dampers; Rear: swing axle, torsion bars, single acting lever dampers

Brakes: cast-iron drums front and rear, cable operated

Steering: worm and sector

Tyres: 5.00×16-inch cross-ply

DIMENSIONSONS

Length: 4070mm

Width: 1540mm

Height: 1500mm

Wheelbase: 2400mm

Front (F/R): 1290mm/1250mm

Kerb weight: 690kg

PERFORMANCE

0-100kph: 23sec

Max speed: 100kph (appx)

Economy: 36mpg

PRODUCTION

1945: 1785

1946: 10020

1947: 8987