Introduction
Andrew Taylor
Whilst Germany were spending big to give the Beetle a last hooray before the Golf arrived, VW South Africa had to think laterally... The result; The Super Beetle!
By the early 1970's VW Beetle sales were flagging. This was a thirty year old model after all and competitors were taking chunks out of the Beetle's market share. To bridge the gap until the all new Golf arrived, VW Germany resolved to undertake the biggest re-engineering of the Beetle in its life time. This radical plan aimed to bring the Beetle's offering up to the standards of the contemporary competition. It was both a bold and costly plan requiring significant re-tooling to give the world a bigger, more refined and better handling Beetle. The result was the acclaimed 1303 and 1303S Beetles.
Over in South Africa, however, VWSA were considerably more financially constrained than their German colleagues. Given the huge popularity of the Beetle in South Africa, however, something had to be done. A team from the Uitenhage factory took a good look at the 1303 Beetle the rest of the world were getting and decided to adopt a range of features that could be incorporated into local manufacture but at minimal cost and disruption. The key, and most obvious, changes was the 6% bigger curved windscreen, larger rear window, deeper front bonnet and additional cooling vents behind the rear windows and on the engine cover. The interior was also significantly better appointed than earlier offerings.
This Metallic Bronze beauty is one of those 1600S Super Beetles, and as such, a rare beast. Only ~5,043 of these cars left the Uitenhage factory which, in Beetle terms, qualifies this car as somewhat of a unicorn. A body off restoration by RAD Beetles of South Africa in 2021, and freshly imported since, this is an excellent example of a cult classic.
This auction listing was written from information supplied by Andrew after meeting Paul the owner, and having visited and photographed the vehicle.
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I WANT ONEAsk Questions
Hi, Re the Beetle can you please answer the following Qs: 1]The Trade Classics information site auction mentions no car history details. I assume you have no previous purchase /service records/invoices/mot equivalent docs, etc@ previous owner[s] ? 2] Re Heating mention is made of possibility of retro fitting heat exchangers, etc. Does the vehicle have heating channels, being an SA warm climate vehicle, all be it currently unused as I cannot see in the set of interior photos any sign of the usual floor heater outlet grills? 3] I assume the areas under the rear bench seat is perfect as… Read more »
Hello Ray, I bought the Beetle from a VW refurb specialist in South Africa called RAD Beetles. The record of work that was done is listed on the advert. I am not privy to the previous owner, the Specialist sourced it. I bought it from RAD with the aim of exporting it and selling it. Under the rear bench seat is simply where the battery is stored so I assume this is why TradeClassics did not photograph it. But to answer your question, underneath is all 100% because it did have a full body off rebuild.If you view the Certificate… Read more »
Hi Paul,
Just to confirm as the body of the ad mentions drum brakes. It should have discs up front and an AT code gearbox, is this the case ? Regards.
Hi there, thank you for the enquiry. It is definitely drums all around. The SA ‘superbug’ was based on the 1303 but not identical. My ‘superbug’ was refurbished to exactly original as it was built in the factory in 1976. Regarding the gearbox, I actually don’t know, all I can vouch for is that the rebuild I paid for was to be Original. Here is a link to some more info I was given… https://jalopnik.com/the-freaky-frankenstein-vw-beetles-of-south-africa-5962574
Hi there, thank you for the enquiry. It is definitely drums all around. The SA ‘superbug’ was based on the 1303 but not identical. My ‘superbug’ was refurbished to exactly original as it was built in the factory in 1976. Regarding the gearbox, I actually don’t know, all I can vouch for is that the rebuild I paid for was to be Original. Here is a link to some more info I was given… https://jalopnik.com/the-freaky-frankenstein-vw-beetles-of-south-africa-5962574
Hi,
does this have the older swing arm suspension?
Hi there,
Yes, it is the older set up with the torsion bar.
Vehicle Location
Northampton
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