Rendered Speculation: Volkswagen SP2 redux
Click above to view a high resolution gallery of Marcelo Rosa's SP2 rendering
Back in the 1970s when Volkswagen was trying to evolve from The Beetle Company to something more, the Type III was developed to go gunning for the mainstream. VW's Brazilian division was essentially it's own little fiefdom; with the market closed to imports and only Karmann Ghias to offer as sports cars. Even the spiffy and rare Type III Ghia was no longer too impressive by 1971. Division head Rudolf Leiding saw the need for a newer sports car and pushed through Project X, which used the Type III underpinnings and placed an attractive and modern coupe body atop the floorpan. Leiding was called back to run Volkswagen proper, but his modern coupe saw some success, and around 10,000 were produced making VW fans worldwide envious of the Brazilian market. With the revival of the Scirocco, it seems only natural that interest in other sporty 1970's VWs would be piqued. Designer Marcelo Rosa has whipped up an updated vision of what a new SP2 might look like, and we like it. The idea is much like the upcoming Camaro – paying homage to the past without going completely retro. Some of the detailing is a little slavishly accurate and wouldn't fit with where VW's current style direction is going, but there's always room for a vehicle that pulls on the heartstrings; this is the company that makes the New Beetle, after all.
Gallery: Marcello Rosa VW SP2
[Source: Carscoop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kitko 10:32AM (10/24/2008)
O, mighty Porsche, please, come and save us from VW madness.
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awkward 12:20PM (10/24/2008)
it looks like a mustang - gremlin love child
Randy 12:31PM (10/24/2008)
I was thinking the Giugiaro Mustang Concept! At first I was like "wow, what did they do, paint the Giugiaro Mustang blue?" Then I saw the picture of the old VW! LOL... DOH
The Giugiaro Mustang is still bad-ass!
esteva03 10:38AM (10/24/2008)
yes please!!! can i have it in ferrari yelow?????
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bigbear7787 12:11PM (10/24/2008)
please tell me your kidding...
this is worse than that ford model t
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/21/european-university-designs-2015-model-t-concept/
Tristan 12:27PM (10/24/2008)
WOW WOW!!! there is no part of his car (not a single feature) that could be considered cool or beautiful.
idk how the car companies are going to design new cars that look good with people like you guys sayin that nasty sh!T like this looks cool.
name one part of the car that looks good!!!!!
boulderhorn 10:41AM (10/24/2008)
that's a very, very attractive car. unfortunately, i have sworn off volkswagens due to my jetta lemon... god that thing had horrible bild quality.
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Torrent 12:08PM (10/24/2008)
Well it WAS a Jetta. They weren't good until their most recent redesign. Now they're great.
Icon149 10:48AM (10/24/2008)
Yeah and lets do a modern retro take on the original Karmann Ghia...
give it some sporting credentials. the Karmann Ghia is still one of the best looking cars ever designed. its just to bad teh performance wasn't as hot as the sheet metal.
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why not the LS2LS7? 10:54AM (10/24/2008)
If Porsche indeed is doing a new 914, then VW could make a Karmann Ghia from it.
Isuzu32 11:00AM (10/24/2008)
A Karmann Ghia revival would be awesome. I always loved the overall design of the car. There was a rusted out, beat up model at a used car lot when I was 18. I wish I had the money to pick it up then...
J M C 3 5:49PM (10/24/2008)
A new Karman Ghia would great.
Mazda stole their thunder with the Miata.
Kotse 7:24PM (10/24/2008)
Another VWdoBrazil original was the VW Puma...
why not the LS2LS7? 10:54AM (10/24/2008)
It's a lot like the new Camaro, I'll say. Paint it yellow and some people might get them confused.
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BigMcLargeHuge 11:05AM (10/24/2008)
When I first saw the name 'Rosa' I got it confused with 'Rossi'. I was about to ask if this was done by the same guy as the Corvette Homage Concept.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/19/sema-preview-rossi-66-melds-corvette-c2-looks-with-c6-hardware/
Turns out I was mistaken, but the design language is beautiful.
Adam 10:54AM (10/24/2008)
Seems very Mustang + Z4 Coupe... but it'd still be cool to see VW build anything along these lines.
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Stumpy 11:01AM (10/24/2008)
I know that is just a "Rendered Speculation" but it sure is pretty. Light weight and RWD, I want one!
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bill 11:21AM (10/24/2008)
Yes, it does have more than a passing resemblance to a Mustang. So much so that if it had a blue oval on its nose we would be saying to Ford - build it and build it now.
What is up with VW quality. The magazines and TV shows rave about the nicely done interiors, and later the same magazines complain about squeaks and rattles in the dashboards during long term tests. Car and Driver ran a GTI for 40,000 miles and said the squeaks and rattles are a standard feature of VW products. Huh?
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cye 11:11AM (10/24/2008)
looks a lot like BMW Z4 coupe.
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Hamud 11:12AM (10/24/2008)
Mustang was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the picture.
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