The 411/412, Volkswagen’s last foray into rear engined design

While most other car makers were designing front wheel drive cars with engines in the front, VW was still committed to rear engined cars. After all, it was the Beetle configuration that was so successful it made sense to build cars like the Beetle only larger, or so it seemed to Heintz Nordhoff, by then head of VW. The Type 4, or 411, was larger, roomier, and even offered a 4 door sedan.  The 411 hit the market with mixed review and sales were disappointing. One wag opined the it was called the 411 because VW could only sell 411 copies of the new car. People either loved them or hated them.  My wife and I ordered one of the first 411 Variant models. we loved the car, the way it looked, the way it drove, the excellent fit and finish and the roominess of the car.  Here below is our  Shantung Yellow ‘71 411 on Martha’s Vineyard the summer of ‘71 just after we bought it. I also had my ‘68 Beetle.  We were a two VW household. Three sons later we traded the 411 in for a ‘75 VW Bus. Then our fourth son arrived.  The bus would carry us on from there. We loved that 411. I wish we could have kept it.