Okay, today is a holiday (for you U.S. CCers anyway), and there’s probably not a whole lot of folks reading CC–with such pressing matters as turkey, football and dessert! But I saw this lonely little VW today, sitting all by itself while driving past the local golf course and I just had to stop.
Well, this is not exactly going to be a horse race, is it? Nope, the 1973 Super Beetle weighed in at a feather-light 2072 lbs. Two Super Beetles would be only 129 pounds more than the Lincoln’s curb weight. Different strokes for different folks, and all that.
I really liked the ’70s style dished chrome wheels and metallic blue paint. This is at least a 1973 Super Beetle, as it has the new wraparound windshield that 1971-72 Super Beetles lacked.
1973 models also got a brand-new “big-boy” style dashboard, that even came with fake wood on it (gasp!) on some of the special edition Beetles–Le Grande Bug anyone?
Even in the shots of the Beetle by itself, the Lincoln lurks in the background–almost like the VW is a little Apollo capsule circling the big Panther Moon.
Okay, you knew this post was rigged from the start, but for you lovers of cold hard facts, the 1973 Super Beetle was 160.6″ long, 62.3″ wide and had a 95.3″ wheelbase. And for those of you who missed the first IIBTATC post, the Townie is 215.3″ long, 78.2″ wide and a 117.7″ wheelbase.
There are a lot of folks who don’t like Panthers, and even some other folks who don’t care for air-cooled Volkswagens (why? beats me). I like ’em both, myself.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
nice beetle.i used to have one 1976&ended up putting 300 000 km on that without any major thing going wrong.70s as you all know,was a very challenging time for automakers in every country and most cars needed a rebuilt every 200 000 km or so(except for my dad’s 79 Peugeot 504(petrol,manual)that lasted 28 years(almost500k km)without rebuilt)but no car could beat the uniqueness of bugs.before I forget HAPPY THANKSGIVING to paul&all of readers of curbside classic&i wish you all to have a great 2014.greetings from TEHRAN.BIJAN.
Which one is taller?
Super Beetle: 59.75″
Town Car: 58″
So I guess the VW is a bit bigger in one dimension 🙂
Nice, the second pic shows quite a bit of top curvature…
Hummm, I know of a guy who just bought a Lincoln and his Volvo brougham wagon got demoted to sitting outside. He really likes the all-American ambiance of the Lincoln and its silky 4.6 liter V8. One has to wonder if he’s even driving the Volvo in non-snowy weather. 🙂
Everyone needs a beater!
That’s a good-looking bug. (Town Car is nice, too.) If I ever get an air-cooled Beetle, I think I’d go for the Super Beetle. The less-terrible trunk capacity would be nice, and the McPherson struts in the front would be nice when dealing with crosswinds, and we do have crosswinds this time of year.
Agreed on both counts Mike – and the other thing reasons I prefer the Super Beetle are the curved windscreen and deeper more modern dashboard.
I like both of em so I appreciate the post.
Your TC not being an L version only tips the scales at under 4100lbs since it is old enough to still have the aluminum hood and I believe trunk too, so the Beetle weighs more than 1/2 of the TC.
Make a Brougham out of the VW and you’ll have a REAL “Classic!”
(DID anybody ever actually DO that?)
Well, there was the La Grande Bug.
http://www.sebeetles.com/lagrandebug.htm
I remember seeing these as a kid, not knowing what they were. I remember the distinctive wheels the most.
Even so- the whole concept of a “luxury” Bug is laughable at best. I nearly spit my Blue Moon all over my keyboard when I saw the pic of the chauffer standing next to it.
Yes, here is your Broughamtastic VW.
Please help me find info bout that vw youve postrd i have a kit on mine like that but know nothing about it please help thanks
“…the 1973 Super Beetle weighed…only 129 pounds shy of twice the Lincoln’s weight.”
Nearly twice the TC’s weight?! That’s one porky little Beetle! Unless you meant this one:
😉
Oh drat. That should be two beetles would be 129 pounds MORE than the Lincoln’s curb weight 🙂
How odd that two commenters above actually preferred the Super Beetle. Nearly everyone I’ve spoken with in person hates them. I do know firsthand the Supers sometimes have issues with shimmying front ends & many say they look too fat & bloated.
Personally, I never could tell them apart until I began researching them after buying my wife a ’73 SB convertible and being gifted a ’79 SB convertible from some dear friends. These are such odd cars in so many ways.
What’s weird is that I’ve only driven convertible air-cooled VWs. I suspect & sincerely hope the closed models are a lot less floppity-boppity! I routinely catch myself scouring Craislist for a cheap complete hardtop to dork around with but have thankfully NOT scored.
One of the main reasons for the Super Beetle’s front end shimmy is that it suffers from the same malady plaguing early Mustangs and V8 Monzas- not enough body strength at the upper suspension mounting points.
At speed, those flimsy strut towers would be flexing all over the place, playing hell with the alignment. Worn struts or bushings, damaged rims, or out-of-round tires would only make the situation worse.
Several aftermarket companies make a bolt-on strut tower brace specifically for Supers that rigidly ties the strut towers together and cures this problem- albeit at the expense of luggage space.
Although I’m not a Beetle fan, the Super would be my first choice also. Better ride and handling from the strut suspension. Plus the thick padded dash, outward curving windshield, and large bumpers would make it somewhat safer in an unfortunate mishap.
That explains why my MK I Ford Fiesta had a “death shimmy” at times and terrible front tire wear.
If a Super Beetle fell into my lap, I wouldn’t say no. I find them curious, in an alligator like way, like an almost prehistoric animal that has still managed to survive into the modern age.
The reason I prefer the Super Beetle comes down to appearance – the flat windscreen of the original design upsets the integrity of the overall profile. Just my opinion of couse and I still like the original design too!
I prefer the way a regular Beetle drives. However what people have done modifying Supers for handing is rather amazing. I’m more of an early Beetle guy but I dig the German Look style Supers.
Oh and it is a 1973. Curved windshield and less the 5mph bumpers which arrived for 1974.
Those front seats are 1973 only as well.
Thanks for pinning down the year Adam! I knew it had to be a 1973-75 model with that windshield.
What’s amazing is how much closer in size one of the two modern generation Beetles would be to the Lincoln. The Town Car was one of the very few cars that still looked vaguely large compared to the average car (Camry, Accord, Fusion, etc.) during its era.
The original Beetle was a very small car compared to any 2013 V Dub.
Super Beetles; I had experience with all of them. Sports Bug, Sun Bug, Le Grande Bug; either I had one or a family member did. Sure, they were sensitive to wheel shimmy, but all that had to be done was a professional job spin balancing the wheels instead of a static wheel balance. Still, at this point, if I were looking for a “classic” Beetle, it would have to be the original design.
Like them both a lot. I don’t remember seeing that electric blue on the bugs at the time. Looks great.