Anyone visiting the collection of the Volkswagen AutoMuseum Foundation will come across a mysterious four-door saloon with straight, angular lines and four round headlights. The first impression is that it is a Tatra 613, a luxury model with a rear engine that was produced in Czechoslovakia between 1974 and 1996.
But wait... The silhouette is slightly different and the wheels are the same as those of the first Porsche 911 aka 901! What could it be?
A number plate identifies the mysterious car as the EA 128 prototype, which was planned as a large Volkswagen in the 1960s, a kind of spiritual forerunner of the Phaeton, so to speak. The model was developed in collaboration with Porsche, but never went into series production. We tell you a little about its history here.
Gallery: Volkswagen EA 128 history
In the 1960s, Germany introduced customs barriers to seal off the domestic market from imported models. The VW Beetle continued to be diligently produced in series, but brands such as Ford and Opel dominated the higher segments with the Taunus 17M P3 and the Rekord P2 respectively. In addition, the demands of Beetle customers grew with prosperity.
Volkswagen responded by making its debut on the mid-range market in 1961 with the Type 3 family. These models were simply called the VW 1500, later the VW 1600, and were offered in three configurations. First came a small saloon (better known today by the name it was given in the United States: "Notchback").
Unfortunately, the pretty VW 1500 Cabriolet did not go into series production in 1961
This was followed by the Variant and finally the Fastback TL, which stood for touring saloon. However, these models were only available with a two-door body (not to be confused with their namesakes, which were produced in Brazil years later...).
Germans who were wealthy enough to be able to afford a classier car bought a Mercedes "Heckflosse" of the W110 series or a newly introduced BMW 1500 "Neue Klasse".
In the USA, on the other hand...
At the same time, the practical VW Beetle was experiencing an unprecedented boom for imported vehicles in the United States. In 1960 alone, 117,000 Beetles were sold there (this figure was to increase until 1968, when 399,674 of the crawlers were sold in the country).
In order to compete with Volkswagen, the US manufacturers began developing compact models. Or rather, what they considered "compact" compared to the Yankee automobile standard. In 1960, Ford launched the Falcon, without tail fins, restrained with chrome and "only" 4.59 metres long. Technically, it was a conventional car, but 15 per cent smaller than its larger brothers. The even smaller "Cardinal" was sent to Cologne practically ready to go, where it successfully battled against the Beetle from 1962 as the Taunus 12M.
General Motors, on the other hand, took a much more radical approach in the battle against VW and presented a car with an air-cooled boxer engine in the rear: the Chevrolet Corvair, developed by the team led by Ed Cole (father of the legendary Chevrolet small-block V8 engine and later GM boss).
1960 Chevrolet Corvair
Like the VW Beetle, the Corvair had independent suspension on all four wheels, with the rear wheels having swing axles. Its design was clear and typically European, initially as a coupé and saloon. In its first full year alone (1960), 250,000 units of this unusual Chevrolet were sold.
Although the Corvair was "an answer to Volkswagen", it was much larger than the VW Beetle in every respect. Its 2.3-litre six-cylinder engine produced 81 or 96 PS, depending on the version. Although it was labelled Turbo-Air 6, this engine was naturally aspirated - but in 1962 it received a turbocharged version that boosted output to 152 PS.
The prototypes of the VW EA 128 in the saloon and estate versions (Photo: Volkswagen Auto Museum Foundation)
In addition, the best-selling Corvair was a four-door saloon with a length of 4.57 metres and a wheelbase of 2.74 metres (compared to the 4.07 metres and 2.40 metres of the VW Beetle). In 1961, the Corvair also received the Lakewood version, a four-door estate, much to the favour of the US market.
Heinrich Nordhoff, the godlike president of Volkswagenwerk AG, had to do something. And so the "Volkswagen Development Order 128" (VW EA 128) project was born.
911 engine ... in notchback and estate!
"Development contract" is the abbreviation for the German brand's projects. In the case of the EA 128, VW awarded the contract to close friends Porsche (who presented the 901, the sports car that would forever be known as the 911, at the 1963 IAA).
Volkswagen EA 128 (Photo: Volkswagen Auto Museum Foundation)
The mechanical design of the EA 128 followed the same firmly chiselled specifications as Porsche and Volkswagen at the time: an air-cooled rear engine was the unalterable paradigm. The power unit was an unprecedented air-cooled 2-litre six-cylinder boxer engine - the same that was to be used in the 901/911. In the large saloon, however, the output had been reduced from 130 PS to 90 PS in favour of higher torque at low engine speeds.
A five-speed manual gearbox and torsion bar suspension completed the package, with which the model reached a top speed of 99 mph. With a length of 4.70 metres and a weight of around 1,200 kilograms, the Volkswagen had similar dimensions to the Mercedes-Benz W110. It was also 13 cm longer and 150 kg heavier than the Corvair saloon. A prototype estate car was also built, which is also preserved in Wolfsburg.
Volkswagen EA 128 (Photos de Jason Vogel)
Had the EA 128 been included in the programme, it would have been the first four-door VW. (In the end, it was not until 1968 that it became the ill-fated 411.) Its clear, linear design was very modern for the early 1960s. From the waist upwards, the prototype anticipated features of the Mercedes-Benz "Stroke Eight" (W114/W115) by Paul Bracq, which was introduced in 1968. The smooth front section with four headlights was a foretaste of the later Brazilian Variant and TL (which, incidentally, were derived from another German prototype, the EA 97).
The lines of the EA 128 were also rather simple at the rear, with openings in the bonnet for the air intake. The indicators were mounted on the wings. The sealed-beam headlights signalled the intention to export the model to the United States. The wheels and hubcaps corresponded to those of the last Porsche 356 and the first 911s.
Volkswagen EA 128 (Photo Volkswagen AutoMuseum Foundation)
To avoid being recognised, the prototype saloon bears no VW logo on the outside, only on the steering wheel (which is the same as on the Porsche 911). The controls for the indicators and windscreen wipers, the buttons on the dashboard and even the window handles correspond to those of the first 911, as do the unmistakable odometer and speedometer, albeit with some differences in the instrument scales.
The upholstery was lavish, with caramel-coloured leather. When we visited the museum earlier this year, we were able to open the doors, take a seat in the one-piece seats and feel the generous space of the six-seater cabin with a flat floor without the centre tunnel characteristic of air-powered VWs.
The saloon's total odometer showed 1,467 kilometres, and this is probably still the case today, as the car has not been put on the road for many years. The half-lowered front suspension and a dent in the bumper are indications that the prototype did not have it easy.
Volkswagen EA 128 history
New priorities
Volkswagen eventually gave up production of the model, probably because it would have been too expensive. In addition, in 1965, consumer advocate Ralph Nader published the book "Unsafe at any speed", which gave the Corvair a bad reputation as an unstable car and caused sales of the rear-engined Chevrolet to plummet in the USA.
Also in 1965, the VW Group took over the Audi brand together with Auto Union from Mercedes-Benz and launched the F103 mid-range saloon with a water-cooled front engine, front-wheel drive and two- or four-door versions as well as a Variant. As early as 1966, Nordhoff got to see the first prototype of the F104, which later became a complete success as the Audi 100. The EA 128 prototypes had lost their significance and a new era had dawned.
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