Volkswagen Type 4

From Freepedia

The Volkswagen Type 4 was a midsized 2 or 4-door sedan or 2-door station wagon built by Volkswagen. It was produced between 1968 and 1974. It was larger than the Volkswagen Type 3 and had a more powerful engine. The Type 3 and Type 4 were the last of VW's air-cooled models and preceded the massively successful Golf and Rabbit.

The Type 4 introduced many firsts to the Volkswagen lineup. These firsts included: unibody construction, MacPherson strut front suspension, rear suspension with coil springs and trailing wishbones, hydraulic clutch (for models equipped with a manual transmission), and the first fully automatic transmission in a Volkswagen (previous cars used an automatic (vacuum-actuated) clutch, but still had to be shifted manually). It was also Volkswagen's first 4-door sedan. The MacPherson strut front suspension was later succesfully used in the Super Beetle.

The Type 4 included the 411 (produced from 1968 to 1972) and the 412 (produced in 1973 and 1974). Each model included a sedan (fastback) and a station wagon version. Both models were fuel injected, one of the first mass production vehicles to include this feature after the Volkswagen Type 3 (which also recieved fuel injection in 1968).

The Type 4 was reputedly a favorite project of Volkswagen head Heinz Nordhoff, who felt that the larger vehicle would be attractive to families in North America.

While the Beetle's battery was located under the rear seat, the Type 4's battery was located under the driver's seat.

While the Type 4 was discontinued in 1974, the Type 4 engine became the power plant for Volkswagen Type 2s produced from 1972 to 1979, and continued in modified form in the Volkswagen Vanagon (air-cooled from 1980 through mid-1983, and water-cooled from late 1983 through 1991).

	Volkswagen Group
	Volkswagen | Audi | SEAT | Škoda | Bentley | Bugatti | Lamborghini
Apollo | Lupo | Polo | Gol | Citi/CitiGolf | Golf | Jetta/Vento/Bora | Fox/Gacel | Scirocco | Corrado | Eos | Beetle/Bug | New Beetle | TL/Variant | 181/Thing/Trekker/Safari | Touran | K70 | Passat | Santana | Sharan | Phaeton | Pointer | Quantum | Touareg | Caddy | Eurovan/Transporter | LT
Beetle (Type 1) | Bus/Transporter (Type 2) | Vanagon (Type 2.5) | 1500/1600 (Type 3) | 411/412 (Type 4) | Karmann Ghia | Kübelwagen | Schwimmwagen | 1-litre concept
Edit this template