Volkswagen decided to reveal its secrets and show unknown models that never went into production. The Stiftung exhibition was organized in Wolfsburg, where experimental and conceptual Volkswagens were collected.
The collection includes unusual prototypes, concepts and show cars from Volkswagen's stock. Most of them were not put into production and a significant part of the cars are unknown to the general public.
In particular, the exhibition presents the experimental Volkswagen EA48 from 1955, which was to become the Beetle's younger brother and a competitor to the Mini. The compact city car was equipped with a four-cylinder engine with an 18 horsepower. It was actually ready for mass production, but the concern's management feared that the model would "steal" buyers from the more expensive VW Beetle.
The large Volkswagen EA128 sedan from 1963 is the predecessor of the Phaeton with a rear-mounted two-liter 90 horsepower engine from the Porsche 911, capable of reaching speeds of 160 km/h. The compact Volkswagen Chicco from 1975. can be called the ancestor of the Lupo and Up models, and the VW EA 276 from 1969 is one of the early Golf prototypes with an angular design and a boxer engine from the Beetle.
In addition, the museum displays a conceptual Volkswagen Beetle with a 44-horsepower engine from the Polo and a VW T2 minibus with a compact gas turbine with a capacity of 74 hp. There is also a Volkswagen T2 convertible, created for a German television show. The Beetle, converted into a hot air balloon basket in Switzerland in 1995, also became a kind of show car.
The sporty Rovomobil is a unique homemade car created in 1976 by craftsmen from the GDR using units from an old Volkswagen Beetle, as well as from Trabant and Wartburg. It is distinguished by a simplified body with retractable headlights.
The museum also includes the experimental Volkswagen ESVW I sedan from 1971, which demonstrates the progress in automotive safety at the time. The car has crumple zones, powerful bumpers and an impact-resistant dashboard.
A 1977 Volkswagen Passat GTI supercharged prototype was also on display. It was planned to be put into production, but later this idea was abandoned, since the 108-horsepower engine was considered too weak. And the VW IRVW III is an experimental sports version of the second-generation Jetta with a 178-horsepower turbodiesel, which easily moves on the autobahn at a speed of 200 km/h.
The VW T3 Magma, an off-road pickup with steel arches, a winch and increased ground clearance, also did not become a serial model. But the 4x4 convertible hybrid, which is a cross between a Volkswagen Golf and a FIAT Panda, was produced in small series in Italy in the 1990s under the name Biagini Passo. The VW T-Roc Cabriolet can be considered its modern successor.
In addition, the little-known Volkswagen Hormiga truck with a simple chopped design went into production, and the original Plattenwagen loaders based on the Beetle were made by the brand's factory employees themselves for the transportation of spare parts and never left the factory.
