SLIDESHOW
Secret Volkswagens that were never sold
Volkswagen runs two museums in its home town of Wolfsburg. The first, called ZeitHaus, is like a book of the 100 most emblematic cars brought to life and some, of course, are VWs. The second, dubbed Stiftung, is like walking through the minds of the brightest, most daring engineers VW has ever employed. Obscure one-offs, crucial production cars, prototypes never shown to the public and once-popular concept cars all retire under the same roof. Join us as we explore the shady, forgotten side of the firm’s history.
RONAN GLON
EA 128 1963
Easily one of the most captivating cars in the VW collection, the EA 128 came to life in 1963 as the firm explored ways to use its ties with Porsche while moving upmarket. It was a four-door, rear-engined family car developed with Porsche’s input and powered by a detuned version of the 911’s 2.0-litre air-cooled flat six. It made 89bhp, enough to send the EA 128 to 100mph. Ultimately, though, the firm concluded that the VW badge didn’t work in this market, and that was that.