The car gods have smiled upon me. With VW week coming along, my picture folders were remarkably scant of any VW of any variety. Then this little number came along.
Does it look familiar? Maybe to those in South America or the truly hardcore VW devotee. The SP-2 was designed by Volkswagen do Brazil in the late 1960’s. With Brazil having import restrictions, the Brazilian branch of VW was able to exercise some autonomy in creating a successor to the Karmann Ghia.
Built from 1972 to 1976, the SP-2 was built on VW’s 412 chassis and was powered by an air-cooled 1700 cc engine pumping out 75 horsepower. This rather stylish car earned the derogatory nickname of Sem Potencia (without power). Ultimately there were only 10,205 made, although a number were exported to Africa.
This particular VW was caught taking a siesta at the Tupelo Automobile Museum in Tupelo, Mississippi. It’s a great museum; stay tuned for a full report on it.
Give it a Judson Supercharger and it might almost go as good as it looks.
wow, how does this compare to the puma?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puma_%28car%29
Porsche engine and suspension please.
Yet another use of the VW 412 headlights and front end by VW in Brazil, this time much lower than the others (Brasilia, Type 3). VW do Brasil appears to have put it on every model that they could during the early 70s!
Neat looking car. I wonder how it would have done in US with a little more power? Been to the Tupelo Auto Museum several times but do not remember that car. I know some of the cars they rotate out depending on the theme. It is a rather neat museum, need to stop there more often, it is about 60 miles north of me. Look forward to your write up of it. Speaking of Tupelo on a non automotive note, have you been by the airport there. There is a company there that has been parting out old commercial aircraft for the last couple of years. Usually they have several large aircraft on the tarmac in various stages of dissassembly. I think they have scrapped at least 5 ex Lufthansa 747-400s and at least that many ex ANA ones also. Kind of neat for just a ride by. Here is a picture of what I believe was Lufthansa’s first 747-400 not long before it met the metal muncher. Would love to see one of those big birds land on the relatively short runway there.
No, I did not see that but would have loved to. Interestingly, there is a person about an hour south of me who is a DC-10 mechanic and I will routinely see an assortment of them on the ground – but not as close as you are able to get to these 747’s.
We were heading to Huntsville, Alabama, and Tupelo was an afternoon detour after spending the morning in Corinth. We drove the Natchez Trace Parkway from Main Street in Tupelo to US 72 in Alabama – it was amazing!
Very nice especially the yellow one,not to sure about the green/orange colour combo.
The SP-2 would have been an interesting alternative to the cheap, small sports cars of the day. I could see it in a comparison test with the comparable Opel GT, Datsun 240Z, Triumph Spirtfire and MGB GT. Of course, it would have been lambasted for the VW power train.
But I look at that classic long hood, short deck design and I see a car that has staying power even to this day. A shame we never had the chance to buy one here in the US.
Love the sharky front end on this.
Thank you for the smile this photo and your enthusiasm brought to my face. The car is actually metallic teal, not green. It belonged to my father, a native Mississippian and a remarkable man who traveled around the world many times. He bought the SP2 thirty years ago, when he realized his lifelong dream of driving all the way around South America. The car was the last in a line of automotive loves that included a Cord L27 and a GT 500KR. He would be very pleased that you liked it.
Thanks again!
The SP-2 at the Tupelo Automobile Museum in Tupelo, Mississippi belonged to my late father, George Waverly Briggs Hall, Jr. of Diamondhead, MS. My father lived and worked in South America for most of his professional life and loved cars. He owned a 1929 Cord, which he bought in Argentina but was not permitted to take out of the country. Fortunately, he was luckier with his SP-2. He told two great stories about picking up the SP-2 in Miami after it was shipped from Venezuela upon his retirement. First, no one in customs could figure out the car’s value, so they charged him just $50 to drive off with it. Then, as he headed up I-95, he noticed a state patrolman following the car – my father wasn’t speeding, but he realized that he must have gotten the patrolman’s attention in this sexy little car sporting a Venezuelan license plate! My dad was an amazing man and he would be very pleased to know that his SP-2 is still causing a stir, all these years later. Thanks for noticing this special little car!