A real coup for you, Ian and so well deserved for all of the knowledge and passion you have given us through this channel for so long. Proper chuffed for you. A fascinating tale indeed. :)
I can't get over how adorable that hatchback looked. Also, I can't help but wonder if any part of this became the 914. That sports car mockup looked very much like it could've been an early 914 design.
Looking at what Volkswagen in Brazil were doing with discarded projects like EA97 with the Brasilia and the Type 3 Variant II, Volkswagen could have done better at complimenting and updating the Beetle than they did. They could have also widened the Pancake layout of the Type 3 engine to include the EA97's 1192cc, which would have opened up more space in the rear to be utilized.
1:08 Hans Ledwinka chief designer of Tatra designed the Beetle. He started legal proceedings which were abruptly halted after Germany invaded Czechoslovakia but the moment Tatra had a commercial presence in the West after the war VW immediately paid them off for stealing the design. Indeed up until the VW-Porsche 914 one can think of every Porsche as a coupé version of a Tatra saloon ie air-cooled and rear-engined.
A fascinating story about a might-have-been, and thank you for showing the "home movie" bits of film from the Arctic Circle and South Africa; they're superb. Would be interesting to know how a 4(5)-door EA266 with that low centre of gravity would have handled on most roads and in most weather conditions against a rust-free Alfasud. Like so many commentators here I'm pleased VW eventually went with the transverse FWD overhead-cam water-cooled layout in the Golf. At 8:12 the rather dreary interior surfaced again in the 1978-9 year model of the Golf L, my much-beloved Susi who was mine for almost 8 years. She was almost totally reliable and I don't remember any rust on her...
That was very interesting and I am impressed with the little Porsche but when you see the Mk1 Golf and Scirocco you realise they were fantastic , design classics and the best way forward at that time
Dr Ferdinand Porsche did not solely design the beetle! He actually used (stole) significant areas of design from Tatra cars for which there was a lawsuit issued. Hitler didn't like the fact that Tatra had the audacity to sue his precious volkswagen so he invaded Czechoslovakia and settled it that way.
VW tired to make a replacement for the beetle many times, there were other attempts over the years that are also interesting. Brazilian VW had a couple of the most successful attempts, the Brasilia, which was a modern body atop the beetle platform, and the GOL, which put the beetle drivetrain in the front for air cooling and FWD, later converted to water cooling and imported to the US as the VW Fox.
First of all: I very much appreciate this kind of videos and you've executed it beautifully with the rare footage and calm but appealing narration. It's a shame this project wasn't translated into a production line of vehicles, but you're right it probably wouldn't have been a huge success, with the complications of an engine underneath the rear seat, competition of the project that ended up becoming the front engine front wheel drive Golf much in line of what other manufacturers were coming to market with... I do think the derivatives could have been a success, VW did make a 'Wasserboxer' for the T25/T3...
Loving the new style video, guessing this must’ve been when you were ill. Guessing thought you’d try a different style of video as you couldn’t road test would’ve loved to see more hope to see more in the future.
Makes you wonder how they would have done had they actually greenlit the sale of these cars, certainly an unusual way to go with the engine & trans being under the floor like that for a regular car...
A very interesting video. VW between 1968 to 1971 or the Kurt Lotz era. I have seen the prototypes at the VW factory museum. I think from memory two are left after most were crushed. EA 247 and EA 266 I love that era. VW was hemorrhaging huge amounts of money Kurt Lotz was an accountant not an Engineer like Hienz Nordhoff. Under his controll quality suffered. Rudolf Lieding what he did was rationalised VAG. Part reason I'm now into type 4 VWs owned a 411 and own a SA built 412 poverty spec Variant. All panels differ to a German built 412. It is the only one in the UK minus side trim. You can have a drive once I sort clutch. I love VWs drove my 56 oval twice abroad and to Germany from Scotland back in 2007 and 2009 in my 20s.
At least the license plate for the "south African prototype" is S like Salzburg (Austria). I think the part where it comes out of the garage could be in Salzburg, too
This was an interesting story. Too bad the audio was fluxuating but I understand the audio might have been even worse previously. the story was indeed interesting. Now when turns the development and sales to electroc car, maybe they dust off the blueprints and find it usefull and adaptable without a combustion engine. The mini van looks familliar. Some other youtube videos claim it to be one of worlds ugliest cars. I guess I have a bad taste since I like the design though. I think they called it the toster or bread box or something. I would love to see more about that car model and what happened to it.
Ian, you should not be surprised that Porsche trusted you with their material. You did them and yourself justice. They, as we, know that behind the veneer of incompetence lies an experienced journalist and, more importantly, a truly great storyteller. That was ten minutes of pure joy. More of that please...I'll even watch a short or two if we get more like this.
If you ever visit the Porsche museum it is fascinating and they even acknowledge that the 911 started from a Beetle as they have a early beetle Ferdinand Porsche designed.
I worked at Style Porsche in Weissach as a designer for 15 years and have an air cooled Karmann as my daily driver, so I am fairly familiar with the story of the EA266, but your video here was riveting. I have never seen some of this footage and your presentation style is like having a chat with an extremely knowledgeable friend over a cup of tea. Just bloody wonderful! Please do more of these stories...
Love these auto history lessons! Many presenters seem to be reading a script or act as if they just read some material on the subject. Ian, you are one of the best presenters out there. Who else can be barreling down the highway (US term) giving us great auto information while enroute? You even do a good job while stationary.
VW had such a hard time replacing the Beetle but got it very right with the Golf. Does make you wonder where we would have ended up as the Golf and Golf GTI set the benchmark for so many cars like the 205, Astra, etc, etc…
The 1969 Fiat 128 was the inspiration though the later was inspired by the very British Mini and the brilliant idea of Sir Alec Issigonis. The designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, was surprised to see 128's cut to pieces and literally dissected inside the R&D facilities.
Not sure if you mean the 128’s designer, but that was Dante Giacosa who cleverly brought together existing, albeit uncommon elements, together with his own innovative clutch release mechanism that set the template for countless front wheel drive cars in the following five decades
@@emmajacobs5575 You know your Italian car history, Emma. Giacosa tried out the transverse engine/end on gearbox solution in the Autobianchi Primula before releasing it to a wider market in the 128. The Primula even looked like an ADO16 as both were styled by Pininfarina. I believe the 128s styling was done in house. The wheel turned full circle when the Ritmo (Strada) that replaced this 3 box saloon took its inspiration from the Golf and became a 2 box hatchback...
@@hughrobinson9978 Autobinanchi was always a test-bed for Fiat, I've had a couple of Y10's and they were very well specced small cars. Would love an A112 Abarth! It's interesting that the Strada took the direction it did because of the success of the Golf because Lancias Delta was a Giugiaro design, very similar to the Mk1 Golf and based on a strengthened Rito/Stratos chassis. The Golf was definitely a benchmark car.
Hubnut does Big Car but better! Absolutely loved this. Wish the BBC would pick up on this and realise that not all car enthusiasts want man bimbos talking about unattainable exotica in equally exotic locations. Sensible, well researched and genuinely interesting material. I never even knew these existed and I've been obsessed with VAG from this era since I was a kid. No idea how you managed to get this material from Porsche. More please.
I have been watching your channel since before changing hairstyles (The Young ones Hippie)! You have come along way from your humble beginnings, and it's all good man... It's all good!
Now this is just truly extraordinary indeed. Never heard of these Porsche-designed mid-engined VW prototypes before, what a treat to learn about this project rather late in my petrolhead life. Thanks Ian for presenting this footage in such a competent manner ;)
A thoroughly enjoyable video, I always like to learn about what could have been. A shame the Type 3 never really became successful as I think they're all pretty cars and a nice evolution of the Beetle layout.
Excellent video Ian,absolutely fascinating look at the development of this car. Some great footage of testing. Such a shame it never made it into production.
Yes thanks Ian , always enjoy the hidden back stories that you don't always get the time to put over in your normal videos. Can probably incorporate this style of video to accompany along side some of your test vehicles , were there's a hidden story. Keep up the great content!
Yes I like the format. Your in depth knowledge is your biggest strength, and this kind of history lesson sits as a lovely contra alongside the tinkering and the drives. Bravo!
This prototype has a certain resemblance to the Lupo, which became Volkswagen's entry-level car and was on sale until 2006, temporarily replaced by the Fox, until the UP! went on sale in 2010, which was awarded the 2012 World Car of the Year award at the New York Motor Show.
There is another element to the EA266 story that involves Porsche, who envisioned using EA266 as the basis for a three-tiered mid-engine 911 replacement, with four-, eight-, and twelve-cylinder water cooled boxer engines mounted amidships in a car with three-abreast seating and expected introduction of 1973. The prototype Flat-eight was loosely based on the inline four developed for EA266, and included DOHC cylinder heads and two EA266 water cooled cylinder blocks on a common crankshaft. Do the Roadster and Coupe EA266 accurate reflect what was planned for Porsche's 911 replacement?
Fascinating insight in a dead-end of an automotive development - If I recall correctly, Brazil did get a FWD, Beetle-originated flat-twin powered VW Golf Mark I, so some of that mishmash *did* sprout, albeit not in the original form or function.
One of your best ever videos, Ian. Though I suspect that if the EA266 had gone into production, there would be a video lamenting that VW didn't proceed with the Golf instead, along with many videos about VW's demise some time in the '80s after being sold off to Ford or someone like that.
It should be mentioned that ea266 was the personal project (and "baby") of young Ferdinand Piech. As aknockledged grandson of Ferdinand Porsche he seemed to be allowed to contribute his personal, and technically very ambitious idea to realize, which was doomed in 1971 because of the costs of production by Rudolf Leiding. Probably all involved knew, that the real successor of the beetle would have to be technically very close to the Fiat 127/128, the worldwide benchmark of a contemporary compact at that time in 1971.
not only was the EA too complicated and expensive to build, but it looked ungainly. Not only in comparison to the snazzy Fiat 128, but it even made the Beetle look jolly. What made the Golf a massive success was not only its technical brilliance and just-right packaging, but the wonderfully crisp, iconic styling by Giugiaro. Lesson not learned: if you want a car to be iconic, it better be beautiful, which th ID.3 certainly is not.
Fascinating stuff, if you hadn't captioned it I'd have guessed that was some Japanese obscurity. I can imagine the conclusion at the end of testing though, "oh b***ocks, let's just copy the Fiat 128" (which turned out to be the right answer....)
Like the format! EA stands for EntwicklungsAuftrag, development order. One of the best known EAs is the EA827 engine. VW did a frontwheel drive car with the Beetle engine and drivetrain in Brazil, where it was the original Gol (typ 30, 1980).
I remember seeing a Gol in 1981 in a VW showroom in Brazil. I thought at the time it was a brilliant concept, every shade tree mechanic knew ell about that ubiquitous Beetle (Fusca!) engine, would have been a great selling point
That’s a great flashback! Never heard of this. Long a VW fan air- and water-cooled. The Scirocco was born out of all this - here in SoCal the Scirocco was absolutely huge - sexy commercials and gorgeous minimalist design. Thanks!
What a fascinating insight into the testing of what could have been an iconic car. But VW clearly learned a lot from the project which led into the Golf MK1. Great video, thanks Ian!
Love this story. I was always interessed in the development of the EA266. Very interesting. I was a VW mechanic at that time and we were looking forward for this car to come. But finally it turned into the Golf. For us as carmechanics a little bit dissapointing.
Fascinating presentation, with the added bonus of the cars being unloaded from an ATL-98 Carvair at 4:04 . More commonly seen in the film 'Goldfinger'.
A fascinating story about a car I knew nothing about. I think it's a lovely cheeky-looking thing, particularly in lime green! I enjoyed this documentary-style format. Thank you.
That minivan at 2:39 would have to be the inspiration for the Brubaker Box, no? I always thought the 1972 BB was the original one-box car, but this sketch is maybe five years older.
Well done! :D This archive footage - with Fiat 128 on Finnish snow - was shot on winter 1969/1970 most probably, not ealier. These oldest VW Type1966 vehicles could still be used as R&D work horses. Pity, today Porsche keeps their prototypes usually in 'Don't fire up - unplugged' state. :/
This was a mammoth undertaking for VW going from a pre war design to a EPA compliant water cooled FWD drivetrain with crumple zone unit body. the bug design was only allowed to go this late because it was grandfathered in before the DOT or EPA was established....
Brilliant video, Ian; I can see why Porsche trusted you with this rare footage as you did it justice, but then I wouldn’t expect anything else from your good self. Although mid-engined and uneconomical to recoup development costs, the exterior styling of that car reminds me of many late 1980s/early 1990s cars and wouldn’t look out of place today (modern crash protection laws permitting). I was recently at the Scarborough Fair museum containing not only a collection of classic fairground rides/slot machines but also a number of classic motor vehicles - and I wished I’d had your company as a guide talking me round the collection, your being so knowledgable! 😊
Great, rare and never-before-seen footage of this (ugly) prototype...👍 It's a good thing that it wasn't built in series, otherwise VW wouldn't exist today... Even the Trabant from the GDR looked nicer!
The very early frontal design looks a little like a MK1 Fissta, but with round lights, fascinating how it could have gone all wrong for VW though. Thanks for this video, Mr HubNut.
Wow, the things one had never heard about! I remember visiting the old Porsche museum in Stuttgart, about 20 years ago. It had so much about the history of Porsche, the racing, the prototypes, and so on. What surprised me was that there was nothing about all the front-engined Porsches -- the 924/944/928... Not a mention! Talk about writing out of history... And now I see that there was a LOT more in the history of Porsche.
Probably great little cars until the engine needed any work done. Or absolutely terrible dogs to drive and work on, who knows. Terrible position for the engine. There is a reason why front engine, front wheel drive became the standard for cars. And 7:50 just look at the Golf beside the other cars. They look like 1960s hold overs and the Golf looks bang up to date and even ahead of the time.
Back then VW had one major problem: their production costs were way higher than for example FIAT. And this car was an expensive car to build. Giugiaro not only designer what became the Golf (and the VW models) but he also helped to redesign their production process, which probably was even more important than the Golf.
I worked in Engineering at VW South Africa from 1974 to 1995 & am aware of this project through work colleagues from VWAG & information found. When Rudolf Leiding took over at VWAG he realised that they were stuck in a rut with their air cooled engines & particularly the EA266. As VW had recently acquired Audi/NSU,who were already working on the Audi 50 (based on the Fiat126), VW started on the Golf ( based on the Fiat 128), but using theEA 827 engine from the Audi 80. However,VW’s first front wheel drive product was the K70,essentially an NSU (remember the Passat was only a reworked Audi 80). H. Leiding realised that the future was transverse engine front wheel drive & it is safe to say that if VW had not made the Polo/ Golf combination it is highly likely they would not exist today.
Sooooo, Porche not only ripped off Tatra for the Beetle and 911 but ripped of Renault/Peugot (in styling at least) for this non starter ;) ? Interesting drivetrain layout though.
Top banana. The EA266 looks to me a bit like the missing link between a Type 3 and an early Golf - no surprises there - but there's also a sniff of Renault 14 at the back. Were there some French spies watching the tests in Finland and South Africa? The EA276, meanwhile, looks more like a Wartburg... good job that one never made production.
This was a really surprising one. Never heard of this model and it's conception is very unique indeed. However, the Golf MK1 has a far more pleasing design to my eyes and is a much more timeless icon after all
These cars, although "compromised", are so neat, original , innovative and unique, as I am sure they would have become automotive icons.... Especially the supercar and the van are quite mouth-watering and awesome and cool.... Imagine them being lounched today, they would look every bit as modern in style as anything around.... Yet more unique still.... This is a story of the kind:. ----"What could this have been, had it become a reality??" Absolutely amazing originality and forward-thinking, for the time it was designed in.... The same principle of design is today well used in Smart cars... With the engine also below the trunk space.....And these Smart cars were sold in big numbers....they are everywhere , because they were successful ....With today's modern technology being capable of better sound isolating , and also making cars more reliable, too bad these machines were way ahead of their time..... They would have had quite a story had they been able to use today's modern advancements..... I just try to imagine... If Mercedes made such a successful of a car in the Smart brand, how would it sound like seeing today on the streets an equivalent small bomb on wheels made by Porsche, featuring a sprity Porsche flat six inside.... A cool Smart car by Porsche, all on steroids , with an awesome cool unique looks ..... 😊
The car is so ugly I wonder why it wasn't sent to Brazil. Similarly, it reached South Africa somehow, another land of ugly cars. Was it sent to Malaysia/Indonesia too? This car would have made a total success in Brazil. Stale like a polo MKI that would have an inferiority complex.
So interesting… love vw… I was curious as to where the SA footage took place as I am from SA… def not SA number plates german usually WOB, really enjoyed this
Most likely servicing rendered the project unsuitable. Noise didn't really seem to be much a matter of concern for a Beetle replacement, just look at the Brasília for reference.
..Great footage!..very interesting..the footage from Finland tho must had been recorded in the early 70s as theres vw 1302 in it and they came out in mid 1970…
Now with fixed sound! Thanks for your patience folks. Did you like this style of video?
this format works - nicely paced, informative and entertaining - please make more like this if possible.
Yes, very much!
Yes Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Excellent review. Yes, keep doing these between your usual ones 👏
Nice one Ian, different from normal but very enjoyable. More please 👍
Oooo HubNut documentary, short and sweet. Great format!
Wow, that was so interesting, thanks Ian.
A real coup for you, Ian and so well deserved for all of the knowledge and passion you have given us through this channel for so long. Proper chuffed for you. A fascinating tale indeed. :)
I can't get over how adorable that hatchback looked. Also, I can't help but wonder if any part of this became the 914. That sports car mockup looked very much like it could've been an early 914 design.
I suspect the 914 did benefit from the thinking here, though the mechanical package was of course, quite different.
A great video. Really interesting.
Looking at what Volkswagen in Brazil were doing with discarded projects like EA97 with the Brasilia and the Type 3 Variant II, Volkswagen could have done better at complimenting and updating the Beetle than they did. They could have also widened the Pancake layout of the Type 3 engine to include the EA97's 1192cc, which would have opened up more space in the rear to be utilized.
1:08 Hans Ledwinka chief designer of Tatra designed the Beetle. He started legal proceedings which were abruptly halted after Germany invaded Czechoslovakia but the moment Tatra had a commercial presence in the West after the war VW immediately paid them off for stealing the design.
Indeed up until the VW-Porsche 914 one can think of every Porsche as a coupé version of a Tatra saloon ie air-cooled and rear-engined.
A fascinating story about a might-have-been, and thank you for showing the "home movie" bits of film from the Arctic Circle and South Africa; they're superb. Would be interesting to know how a 4(5)-door EA266 with that low centre of gravity would have handled on most roads and in most weather conditions against a rust-free Alfasud. Like so many commentators here I'm pleased VW eventually went with the transverse FWD overhead-cam water-cooled layout in the Golf. At 8:12 the rather dreary interior surfaced again in the 1978-9 year model of the Golf L, my much-beloved Susi who was mine for almost 8 years. She was almost totally reliable and I don't remember any rust on her...
That was very interesting and I am impressed with the little Porsche but when you see the Mk1 Golf and Scirocco you realise they were fantastic , design classics and the best way forward at that time
Nice video and, yes, I liked the style
Dr Ferdinand Porsche did not solely design the beetle! He actually used (stole) significant areas of design from Tatra cars for which there was a lawsuit issued. Hitler didn't like the fact that Tatra had the audacity to sue his precious volkswagen so he invaded Czechoslovakia and settled it that way.
Indeed, but it would have been tricky to get down to the details of this prototype while going into all that detail.
VW tired to make a replacement for the beetle many times, there were other attempts over the years that are also interesting. Brazilian VW had a couple of the most successful attempts, the Brasilia, which was a modern body atop the beetle platform, and the GOL, which put the beetle drivetrain in the front for air cooling and FWD, later converted to water cooling and imported to the US as the VW Fox.
First of all: I very much appreciate this kind of videos and you've executed it beautifully with the rare footage and calm but appealing narration.
It's a shame this project wasn't translated into a production line of vehicles, but you're right it probably wouldn't have been a huge success, with the complications of an engine underneath the rear seat, competition of the project that ended up becoming the front engine front wheel drive Golf much in line of what other manufacturers were coming to market with...
I do think the derivatives could have been a success, VW did make a 'Wasserboxer' for the T25/T3...
The ea276 looks remarkably like a Skoda Estelle!
Loving the new style video, guessing this must’ve been when you were ill. Guessing thought you’d try a different style of video as you couldn’t road test would’ve loved to see more hope to see more in the future.
Thanks. This one was in progress way before illness, though a stuffy nose stopped me recording the voiceover for a fair while!
Makes you wonder how they would have done had they actually greenlit the sale of these cars, certainly an unusual way to go with the engine & trans being under the floor like that for a regular car...
A very interesting video. VW between 1968 to 1971 or the Kurt Lotz era.
I have seen the prototypes at the VW factory museum. I think from memory two are left after most were crushed. EA 247 and EA 266
I love that era. VW was hemorrhaging huge amounts of money Kurt Lotz was an accountant not an Engineer like Hienz Nordhoff. Under his controll quality suffered. Rudolf Lieding what he did was rationalised VAG.
Part reason I'm now into type 4 VWs owned a 411 and own a SA built 412 poverty spec Variant. All panels differ to a German built 412. It is the only one in the UK minus side trim. You can have a drive once I sort clutch.
I love VWs drove my 56 oval twice abroad and to Germany from Scotland back in 2007 and 2009 in my 20s.
At least the license plate for the "south African prototype" is S like Salzburg (Austria). I think the part where it comes out of the garage could be in Salzburg, too
Excellent 👌
How interesting!
Were they liquid cooled?
Radiator not in the front?
Wonderful video.
Radiator next to the engine, hence that air inlet ahead of the wheel.
This was an interesting story. Too bad the audio was fluxuating but I understand the audio might have been even worse previously.
the story was indeed interesting. Now when turns the development and sales to electroc car, maybe they dust off the blueprints and find it usefull and adaptable without a combustion engine.
The mini van looks familliar. Some other youtube videos claim it to be one of worlds ugliest cars. I guess I have a bad taste since I like the design though. I think they called it the toster or bread box or something. I would love to see more about that car model and what happened to it.
Nice looking cars! Not a million miles from the Polo!
Very Talbot samba - peugeot 104 look
Nice video Mr Nut 🤓👍🪛
Ian, you should not be surprised that Porsche trusted you with their material. You did them and yourself justice. They, as we, know that behind the veneer of incompetence lies an experienced journalist and, more importantly, a truly great storyteller. That was ten minutes of pure joy. More of that please...I'll even watch a short or two if we get more like this.
If you ever visit the Porsche museum it is fascinating and they even acknowledge that the 911 started from a Beetle as they have a early beetle Ferdinand Porsche designed.
I'll second that, a note of respect for Mr. Hubnut as a journalist.
Veneer of incompetence? Quick to judge lol
@@Porsche996driver I think he might have meant to say "facade of incompetence".
I worked at Style Porsche in Weissach as a designer for 15 years and have an air cooled Karmann as my daily driver, so I am fairly familiar with the story of the EA266, but your video here was riveting. I have never seen some of this footage and your presentation style is like having a chat with an extremely knowledgeable friend over a cup of tea. Just bloody wonderful! Please do more of these stories...
Did you see the exceptional Karmann Ghia which just sold on BAT? Very tasteful & sensible upgrades as the final sales price attests to.
Mr Hubnut Becomes Mr Big Car, really enjoyable little video.
Love big car and hubnut. So twice the fun.
Love these auto history lessons! Many presenters seem to be reading a script or act as if they just read some material on the subject. Ian, you are one of the best presenters out there. Who else can be barreling down the highway (US term) giving us great auto information while enroute? You even do a good job while stationary.
Is this a dig at Big Car?
@@jamesbrett6518 I watch Big Car too. Great information Ian has a manner of presentation that I prefer to some others.
A fascinating video Ian. I like this kind of background information and would appreciate more of this type of stuff.
VW had such a hard time replacing the Beetle but got it very right with the Golf. Does make you wonder where we would have ended up as the Golf and Golf GTI set the benchmark for so many cars like the 205, Astra, etc, etc…
Also the Talbot/Chrysler/Plymouth Horizon
The 1969 Fiat 128 was the inspiration though the later was inspired by the very British Mini and the brilliant idea of Sir Alec Issigonis. The designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, was surprised to see 128's cut to pieces and literally dissected inside the R&D facilities.
Not sure if you mean the 128’s designer, but that was Dante Giacosa who cleverly brought together existing, albeit uncommon elements, together with his own innovative clutch release mechanism that set the template for countless front wheel drive cars in the following five decades
@@emmajacobs5575 You know your Italian car history, Emma. Giacosa tried out the transverse engine/end on gearbox solution in the Autobianchi Primula before releasing it to a wider market in the 128. The Primula even looked like an ADO16 as both were styled by Pininfarina. I believe the 128s styling was done in house. The wheel turned full circle when the Ritmo (Strada) that replaced this 3 box saloon took its inspiration from the Golf and became a 2 box hatchback...
@@hughrobinson9978 Autobinanchi was always a test-bed for Fiat, I've had a couple of Y10's and they were very well specced small cars. Would love an A112 Abarth! It's interesting that the Strada took the direction it did because of the success of the Golf because Lancias Delta was a Giugiaro design, very similar to the Mk1 Golf and based on a strengthened Rito/Stratos chassis. The Golf was definitely a benchmark car.
Hubnut does Big Car but better! Absolutely loved this. Wish the BBC would pick up on this and realise that not all car enthusiasts want man bimbos talking about unattainable exotica in equally exotic locations. Sensible, well researched and genuinely interesting material. I never even knew these existed and I've been obsessed with VAG from this era since I was a kid. No idea how you managed to get this material from Porsche. More please.
“Man-Bimbos” yeah lol
DID YOU KNOW - - That the 1997 (JDM) HONDA " Z " - - Was Really Built with this Layout !?
AND with 4-Wheel Drive ! - - in the KEI-car Format !?
I have been watching your channel since before changing hairstyles (The Young ones Hippie)! You have come along way from your humble beginnings, and it's all good man... It's all good!
Well done, Ian! Great story. Love this format. Would love to see it as a recurring feature.
Now this is just truly extraordinary indeed. Never heard of these Porsche-designed mid-engined VW prototypes before, what a treat to learn about this project rather late in my petrolhead life. Thanks Ian for presenting this footage in such a competent manner ;)
A thoroughly enjoyable video, I always like to learn about what could have been. A shame the Type 3 never really became successful as I think they're all pretty cars and a nice evolution of the Beetle layout.
Excellent video Ian,absolutely fascinating look at the development of this car. Some great footage of testing. Such a shame it never made it into production.
Yes thanks Ian , always enjoy the hidden back stories that you don't always get the time to put over in your normal videos. Can probably incorporate this style of video to accompany along side some of your test vehicles , were there's a hidden story. Keep up the great content!
Well done Mr Hubnut - absolutely fascinating story. Lived the format too.
Yes I like the format. Your in depth knowledge is your biggest strength, and this kind of history lesson sits as a lovely contra alongside the tinkering and the drives.
Bravo!
Couldn’t agree more 😎
This prototype has a certain resemblance to the Lupo, which became Volkswagen's entry-level car and was on sale until 2006, temporarily replaced by the Fox, until the UP! went on sale in 2010, which was awarded the 2012 World Car of the Year award at the New York Motor Show.
There is another element to the EA266 story that involves Porsche, who envisioned using EA266 as the basis for a three-tiered mid-engine 911 replacement, with four-, eight-, and twelve-cylinder water cooled boxer engines mounted amidships in a car with three-abreast seating and expected introduction of 1973. The prototype Flat-eight was loosely based on the inline four developed for EA266, and included DOHC cylinder heads and two EA266 water cooled cylinder blocks on a common crankshaft. Do the Roadster and Coupe EA266 accurate reflect what was planned for Porsche's 911 replacement?
Fascinating insight in a dead-end of an automotive development - If I recall correctly, Brazil did get a FWD, Beetle-originated flat-twin powered VW Golf Mark I, so some of that mishmash *did* sprout, albeit not in the original form or function.
One of your best ever videos, Ian. Though I suspect that if the EA266 had gone into production, there would be a video lamenting that VW didn't proceed with the Golf instead, along with many videos about VW's demise some time in the '80s after being sold off to Ford or someone like that.
It should be mentioned that ea266 was the personal project (and "baby") of young Ferdinand Piech. As aknockledged grandson of Ferdinand Porsche he seemed to be allowed to contribute his personal, and technically very ambitious idea to realize, which was doomed in 1971 because of the costs of production by Rudolf Leiding. Probably all involved knew, that the real successor of the beetle would have to be technically very close to the Fiat 127/128, the worldwide benchmark of a contemporary compact at that time in 1971.
not only was the EA too complicated and expensive to build, but it looked ungainly. Not only in comparison to the snazzy Fiat 128, but it even made the Beetle look jolly. What made the Golf a massive success was not only its technical brilliance and just-right packaging, but the wonderfully crisp, iconic styling by Giugiaro.
Lesson not learned: if you want a car to be iconic, it better be beautiful, which th ID.3 certainly is not.
Fascinating stuff, if you hadn't captioned it I'd have guessed that was some Japanese obscurity. I can imagine the conclusion at the end of testing though, "oh b***ocks, let's just copy the Fiat 128" (which turned out to be the right answer....)
Awesome!! Vw Gol had a front engine air cooled engine!
Edit: That's even more awesome!!
The rear end looks really like the Vw Golf Mk1
Looks a little like the Trabant 4 stroke protoytypes from GDR
I am guessing a pre-golf design, I like this way better though and the sports car and van versions are very cool.
このような記録と試作車を残す文化は素晴らしいです。
I love this format.. it’s like watching BigCar but with more emphasis on the wipers!
Like the format! EA stands for EntwicklungsAuftrag, development order. One of the best known EAs is the EA827 engine. VW did a frontwheel drive car with the Beetle engine and drivetrain in Brazil, where it was the original Gol (typ 30, 1980).
I remember seeing a Gol in 1981 in a VW showroom in Brazil. I thought at the time it was a brilliant concept, every shade tree mechanic knew ell about that ubiquitous Beetle (Fusca!) engine, would have been a great selling point
Very good job Ian fascinating stuff. Thanks very much.
That’s a great flashback! Never heard of this. Long a VW fan air- and water-cooled. The Scirocco was born out of all this - here in SoCal the Scirocco was absolutely huge - sexy commercials and gorgeous minimalist design. Thanks!
What a fascinating insight into the testing of what could have been an iconic car. But VW clearly learned a lot from the project which led into the Golf MK1. Great video, thanks Ian!
I'd take an electric version of that mini van any day!
Very interesting and great footage, thanks. The micro bus looked very modern. Shame they weren't carried through. More please!
The engine heat was a problem for the rear seat passengers.VW never solved the problem.
Interesting comment!
Love this story. I was always interessed in the development of the EA266. Very interesting. I was a VW mechanic at that time and we were looking forward for this car to come. But finally it turned into the Golf. For us as carmechanics a little bit dissapointing.
Fascinating presentation, with the added bonus of the cars being unloaded from an ATL-98 Carvair at 4:04 . More commonly seen in the film 'Goldfinger'.
A fascinating story about a car I knew nothing about. I think it's a lovely cheeky-looking thing, particularly in lime green! I enjoyed this documentary-style format. Thank you.
That minivan at 2:39 would have to be the inspiration for the Brubaker Box, no? I always thought the 1972 BB was the original one-box car, but this sketch is maybe five years older.
There is a startling similarity.
Seems like a good idea that they cancelled this project!
Well done! :D This archive footage - with Fiat 128 on Finnish snow - was shot on winter 1969/1970 most probably, not ealier. These oldest VW Type1966 vehicles could still be used as R&D work horses. Pity, today Porsche keeps their prototypes usually in 'Don't fire up - unplugged' state. :/
Very interesting, and it's nice to think the rear passengers had under seat heating.
But I hope they had rear air conditioning during the summer
Great video! it's nothing if not a quirky looking car, but I'd definitely drive one!
This was a mammoth undertaking for VW going from a pre war design to a EPA compliant water cooled FWD drivetrain with crumple zone unit body. the bug design was only allowed to go this late because it was grandfathered in before the DOT or EPA was established....
Why? It was hideous!
Absolutely brilliant video Ian ❤️ 👍 what a fascinating concept car pity it never made production brilliant
Thank you for this! Fascinating! What a great design idea though for practicality
Brilliant video, Ian; I can see why Porsche trusted you with this rare footage as you did it justice, but then I wouldn’t expect anything else from your good self. Although mid-engined and uneconomical to recoup development costs, the exterior styling of that car reminds me of many late 1980s/early 1990s cars and wouldn’t look out of place today (modern crash protection laws permitting). I was recently at the Scarborough Fair museum containing not only a collection of classic fairground rides/slot machines but also a number of classic motor vehicles - and I wished I’d had your company as a guide talking me round the collection, your being so knowledgable! 😊
Great, rare and never-before-seen footage of this (ugly) prototype...👍 It's a good thing that it wasn't built in series, otherwise VW wouldn't exist today... Even the Trabant from the GDR looked nicer!
Great video Ian. Really interesting.
I was really surprised at how much the EA266 indeed resemble a Volkswagen golf at first glance. How cool would it be to go and test it yourself.
The very early frontal design looks a little like a MK1 Fissta, but with round lights, fascinating how it could have gone all wrong for VW though. Thanks for this video, Mr HubNut.
It occurred to me that if the engine was designed so it could just drop down, that would have worked!
Fascinating. Thank you very much. Exactly the kind of car I'd have gone for in the day. Instead it was a FIAT.
Wow, the things one had never heard about! I remember visiting the old Porsche museum in Stuttgart, about 20 years ago. It had so much about the history of Porsche, the racing, the prototypes, and so on. What surprised me was that there was nothing about all the front-engined Porsches -- the 924/944/928... Not a mention! Talk about writing out of history... And now I see that there was a LOT more in the history of Porsche.
The 5-door version looks a bit like a Renault 14 from behind, but in two-thirds scale. I quite like it.
Probably great little cars until the engine needed any work done. Or absolutely terrible dogs to drive and work on, who knows.
Terrible position for the engine.
There is a reason why front engine, front wheel drive became the standard for cars.
And 7:50 just look at the Golf beside the other cars. They look like 1960s hold overs and the Golf looks bang up to date and even ahead of the time.
Back then VW had one major problem: their production costs were way higher than for example FIAT. And this car was an expensive car to build. Giugiaro not only designer what became the Golf (and the VW models) but he also helped to redesign their production process, which probably was even more important than the Golf.
EA means Entwicklungsauftrag. It was rumor that one of the involved persons was Ferdinand Piëch, chief of the racing development until 1972.
I worked in Engineering at VW South Africa from 1974 to 1995 & am aware of this project through work colleagues from VWAG & information found. When Rudolf Leiding took over at VWAG he realised that they were stuck in a rut with their air cooled engines & particularly the EA266. As VW had recently acquired Audi/NSU,who were already working on the Audi 50 (based on the Fiat126), VW started on the Golf ( based on the Fiat 128), but using theEA 827 engine from the Audi 80. However,VW’s first front wheel drive product was the K70,essentially an NSU (remember the Passat was only a reworked Audi 80). H. Leiding realised that the future was transverse engine front wheel drive & it is safe to say that if VW had not made the Polo/ Golf combination it is highly likely they would not exist today.
Very very interesting stuff thanks for sharing Mr Hubnut greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Sooooo, Porche not only ripped off Tatra for the Beetle and 911 but ripped of Renault/Peugot (in styling at least) for this non starter ;) ? Interesting drivetrain layout though.
Absolutely fascinating, Ian. If it's popular enough, can we expect an occasional series of more in-depth motor-tales ?
To be honest, I'd like to do more of these even if they aren't popular!
@@HubNut Please do! So good.
I'd love to see a collaboration along these lines between you and "Twin Cam" Ed, as your styles would complement eachother very nicely.
Top banana. The EA266 looks to me a bit like the missing link between a Type 3 and an early Golf - no surprises there - but there's also a sniff of Renault 14 at the back. Were there some French spies watching the tests in Finland and South Africa?
The EA276, meanwhile, looks more like a Wartburg... good job that one never made production.
This was a really surprising one.
Never heard of this model and it's conception is very unique indeed.
However, the Golf MK1 has a far more pleasing design to my eyes and is a much more timeless icon after all
Really good video. Thank you very much. Subscribed and really looking forward to more good stuff. Best wishes from New Zealand
These cars, although "compromised", are so neat, original , innovative and unique, as I am sure they would have become automotive icons.... Especially the supercar and the van are quite mouth-watering and awesome and cool....
Imagine them being lounched today, they would look every bit as modern in style as anything around.... Yet more unique still....
This is a story of the kind:. ----"What could this have been, had it become a reality??"
Absolutely amazing originality and forward-thinking, for the time it was designed in....
The same principle of design is today well used in Smart cars... With the engine also below the trunk space.....And these Smart cars were sold in big numbers....they are everywhere , because they were successful ....With today's modern technology being capable of better sound isolating , and also making cars more reliable, too bad these machines were way ahead of their time..... They would have had quite a story had they been able to use today's modern advancements.....
I just try to imagine... If Mercedes made such a successful of a car in the Smart brand, how would it sound like seeing today on the streets an equivalent small bomb on wheels made by Porsche, featuring a sprity Porsche flat six inside.... A cool Smart car by Porsche, all on steroids , with an awesome cool unique looks ..... 😊
Porsche did a few prototypes for the American company Studebaker in the 1950s. One looked an awful lot like a type three Volkswagen.
Wow, they made the little one. I only saw the concept drawings.
I think Brazil took these designs to develop the SP2 and Brasilia
The car is so ugly I wonder why it wasn't sent to Brazil. Similarly, it reached South Africa somehow, another land of ugly cars. Was it sent to Malaysia/Indonesia too? This car would have made a total success in Brazil. Stale like a polo MKI that would have an inferiority complex.
Fascinating stuff! well presented, although subtitles could do with some proper sub editing... Rudolf Lighting ?! ( Leiding ) etc
So interesting… love vw…
I was curious as to where the SA footage took place as I am from SA… def not SA number plates german usually WOB, really enjoyed this
Most likely servicing rendered the project unsuitable. Noise didn't really seem to be much a matter of concern for a Beetle replacement, just look at the Brasília for reference.
..Great footage!..very interesting..the footage from Finland tho must had been recorded in the early 70s as theres vw 1302 in it and they came out in mid 1970…