When the Beetle’s production run started to come to an end, Volkswagen began working on a replacement. The Golf was the car that eventually replaced it, but there was a contender from VW Brazil as well. Here are some facts about that car- the Brasilia- you may not know.
It was based on the Karmann Ghia
A first glance at the Brasilia would make most people assume that the car was based on the Type 4 chassis. However, this would be incorrect. As the Brasilia was intended to a be a hatchback, the Type 4’s platform was too long. As such, the design department at VW Brazil decided to build the car on the Karmann Ghia’s chassis, as it was lower, shorter and more up to date than the Beetle and the Type 3.
It was sold in Nigeria
The Brasilia was mainly sold in Brazil, with production later expanding to Mexico. So, it may come as a bit of a surprise to many people that the Brasilia’s third market was Nigeria. Due to Nigeria’s growing economy and population, there was a demand for a family hatchback and Volkswagen was willing to comply. Since VW Nigeria didn’t have the capacity to add the Brasilia to their production line, they instead imported the cars from Brazil in kit form, assembling them on arrival to Nigeria. The car was also rebadged as the Igala and was sold from 1976 to 1980.
It was supposed to be VW Brazil’s bestseller for decades
The Brasilia was initially supposed to be a stopgap between the Beetle and whatever car Volkswagen would release to replace it. However, the Brazilian public really liked the car, so VW Brazil decided to simply give it an update, with a front mounted water-cooled engine. However, they ended up building the Gol instead, built on the new Golf chassis which was much more up to date, with Volkswagen also feeling that the Gol was more economically viable. The Brasilia would be sold alongside the Gol for two years after its launch, but declining demand would cause the Brasilia’s production run to end, with over one million examples sold across Brazil, Mexico and Nigeria.
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