The Coolest Volkswagen You've Never Seen

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Learn more about my 1974 VW SP2. Less than 15 exist in the USA.
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#VW #Aircooled #Brazil #70s #volkswagen #vwsp2 #vwbug #vwbeetle

[@dodibenabba525]

Volkswagen missed a trick not releasing this in Europe, awesome looking car.

[@kostasdervos1093]

They did release the scirocco, which was more advanced.

[@dodibenabba525]

@Kostas dervos true I suppose that's why they didn't. Awesome car the mk1 Scirocco.

[@dodibenabba525]

@Rocco Cars HD yeah if it had a completely different engine in it!

[@dansanders340]

Shit I wanna put a tuned 2.0t, up to 950hp somewhat reliably, and a electric front end setup. They're making bolt on direct drive ev wheels with regenerative braking for around 10k that you just need to get batteries for. They're intended for Honda R's, but I wanna make the fastest VW. I'm on my 3rd VW, wearing a VW hoodie, I wanna stick with VW but also want at least the original quattro AWD for a drivetrain. Basically I want to make the fastest VW possible and the SP2 looks like the best body to do so on, especially the looks. The fact that no one knows what they are is extra funny, its like having a perfect companion for a sleeper Jetta or Passat. I know the aerodynamics might not be great (I would fix that with body kits) but I was surprised as shit to see they're mid engine with such a long hood, that's what sparked the idea. So much room for potential, lol

[@philippedefontenoy6876]

@@dodibenabba525 ; bah , il avait rien de plus que la golf......

[@dukejohnson2205]

Wow! My son is now a youtuber and has done a great job of restoring Big Dad's SP2. Great job on this video! I had put some time in working on this car in the past.

[@maincharacter4157]

Thanks Dad 🎉😂

[@davidhollenshead4892]

I have driven a number of air-cooled VW's across the country and never had a fear of "will it make it home"... Perhaps you need to R & R the engine, check the crank case studs, R & R the heads and also check the studs that hold the cylinder heads on. Not to mention valve adjustments at 3k miles unless you upgrade to hydraulic lifters... As these engines were so simple that there are few reasons for failure, usually a burned exhaust valve, insufficient oil, or being abused in general. Also you sacrificed reliability & cooling with the oversized cylinders. Since you have a type 4 engine, you don't really want to exceed two liters displacement...

[@williamscheuer5933]

@@davidhollenshead4892 Type 4 engine? They were type 3 engines built up to 1700cc. The fan housing and oil cooler location is telltale type 3.

[@NorthernChev]

Now he needs to invest in a wireless microphone…

[@ustinates335]

Great job on keeping it around! I read some stuff in the mags about them as a kid in the 80s. Just curious, what do they weigh?I always wanted a puma, a little more within my scope compared to the sp2.

[@fatfreddyscoat7564]

One of the prettiest, best proportioned and designed cars ever made. Absolutely sublime.

[@MrKnutriis]

I agree - and its simplicity it's striking.

[@DRGBTL23]

As a designer, I agree with you 100%.

[@longnamedude3947]

The body lines and overall proportions of each panel all align to produce a really smooth flowing body shape similar to a Porsche 924 but slightly more elegant in that both the front and back both have much more wedge-like ends to them. I love how low it sits, I don't know how it would handle some of the larger speed bumps that you get on roads these days, but I would have thought that it's rather compact wheelbase would probably enable it to navigate most of them relatively smoothly.

[@edwardkantowicz4707]

The most beautiful Volkswagen ever designed, IMHO. Simply gorgeous, and evocative of an Italian design.

[@edsonmgpryt]

​@@edwardkantowicz4707Projetado por Marcio Piancastelli e equipe.

[@werewolf164]

I'm Argentinian and I was 11 when my family and I went for tourism in Brazil back in 1974 and I first saw a few of these. I was totally amazed by its looks, it was love at first sight.

[@OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOok]

Vos sempre sera muy bienvenido hermano, saludos desde Brasil.

[@reformedgarbage5415]

Big time VW enthusiast here. If you're ever in Nashville, bring it by the VW dealership here. I'd love to see it! Beautiful, rare VW! That's awesome. 😀

[@BigDadsMoto]

I'd love to hit up one of the big cars and coffee in Nashville!

[@reformedgarbage5415]

@Brandon Keller Man that would be epic! It's hosted in Lebanon TN now. I missed the first one of the year but I'm friends with a lot of VW enthusiasts in middle TN. Everyone would absolutely flip out over this car.

[@billmalec]

Not a car show enthusiast nor a car meet up kind of guy but I'd show up to see that in Nashville. I'm a couple hours away in West TN.

[@extraplain]

I've been into cars since forever, and this is the first I've ever heard of this car. Beautiful!

[@henriquemuskito682]

Tem o Volkswagen sp1 e o SP2 , diferença é só o motor e o acabamentos !!! Pesquise Volkswagen Brasília !!

[@idratherberiding3456]

I'm from Brazil and this car was launched when I was a little boy, already with a passion for cars and motorcycles. Every time I go to Brazil I get tempted to buy one of these. There was a recent, sometime in 2022, meeting of SP2 owners in Sao Paulo. I saw that on a KZbin video, there were some 20-30 cars on that meeting. Love the wheels on your car.

[@BuzzLOLOL]

I remember the 2.2L VW engine big bore cylinders and pistons kits in J C Whitney catalog back in the day... along with performance cams... and the prices were surprisingly low... would be perfect for these cars... Also back then, I rode in a friend's Super Beatle and was surprised how it was quiet inside... none of the clattery noises heard outside... with the engine in the rear, they left the noises behind...

[@davidhollenshead4892]

@@BuzzLOLOL Those 2.2 liter kits would turn an engine that would last 100k miles between rebuilds into one that lasted 25k to 50k between rebuilds...

[@klubstompers]

@@BuzzLOLOL I do a built ej25 swap and take this thing to 400+hp.

[@fd4639]

It is beautiful indeed. Was this also known as the "Puma"?

[@idratherberiding3456]

@@fd4639 Puma was an independent manufacturer, they built their first cars on a VW beetle platform, then the VW Brasilia. They also built at some point a larger car, based on the Opel Rekord (Chevrolet Opala) platform, with GM's six-inline 4.1 liter motor.

[@korybeckwith834]

Reminds me of the Puma sportscar that was built in Brazil. The Puma had a fiberglass body and was a looker. It looked like a Italian sportscar of the era. For a time the Puma was sold here as a kit car.

[@HomeroGraco]

The early Puma and GT Malzoni had truly beautiful designs rivaling european counterparts of that era!

[@peterlarkin762]

Gorgeous designs, and highly aerodynamic by the days standards. The Puma was co designed by a university team afaik.

[@HomeroGraco]

@@peterlarkin762 that I didn't know, thought the Puma was already a established company when they came out with that design.

[@klubstompers]

Well the Puma was built on the Volkswagen Kharmann-Ghia chassis and later the Volkswagen Brasilia chassis.

[@maxinsano7376]

Anyone here know if the Puma was a 1700cc as well? I heard it was, but not sure. Thanks

[@stephantranquille6681]

The SP2 looks sensational even by today's standards. Well done for keeping it alive and running x

[@brunonoronha8370]

Pra mim é o carro mais bonito já fabricado pela Volkswagen até os dias de hoje!

[@philippedefontenoy6876]

Base Volkswagen.......il a aussi la puma très réussie.....

[@marciocoelho2481]

Hello there, sir. I'm from Brazil and that was my dream car when I was a kid. My family could never afford one though, and we eventually got a used Beetle instead and kept it for over a decade. Then got another Beetle. And another one. The shape of the SP2 is so cool, I don't understand why VW doesn't revive it somehow.

[@uptone12111]

OMG! No words. I am in love with that car. Nice Job restoring it-those seats look great.

[@Berchol]

Kudos to the great brazilian designer Marcio Piancastelli

[@mikaeljonsson4686]

Beautiful car! Had no idea that VW made something that cool! 👌

[@tenthdimension9836]

I just gotta say WOW!!! I've never seen that car and I absolutely love it. The minute I saw it in my feed I knew I had to watch it. I am really impressed by its looks and love the fact that it's a Volkswagen. I've never owned a Volkswagen but many years ago I got the privilege to work on one and had a lot of fun building a baja dune buggy bug. This looks like just as much fun. You are a lucky dude!!!

[@BigDadsMoto]

Thanks!

[@liamgross7217]

We have a winner for the best looking VW

[@fonziebulldog5786]

Only ONE of these VW SP2 with a 1700cc engine named after the city Sao Paulo found its way to Europe when for some strange reason 500 was sold in Nigeria. The SP1 had a 1600cc engine but it was that slow people called it Sen Potencia, without power. Today a market price on a SP 2 could reach to $ 60 000. Thanks for the video.

[@matheustoddynhop142]

Sem potência*

[@fonziebulldog5786]

@@matheustoddynhop142 😄👍

[@hachiroku8677]

I'm from Brazil too, and most people used to see these things as trash when I grew up in the 90s. At that time, you could buy one for cheap, dirt cheap. There was even a junkyard in my neighborhood near my school, and I remember seeing three scraped SP2s stacked on top of each other. Today survivors are worth big money, but aside from the funky, exotic styling, there's not much to say about them. Brazilians, especially older guys, tend to romanticize these little hoopties, even though a stock SP2 has no sports capabilities at all. Indeed, it feels like a Beetle from the same era, except for the driving position and ride height. There was even the slang "I'm riding an SP2," which means "I'm walking on foot. I got no car." What really blows my mind is seeing somebody here in America reviewing something I used to see in a pile of junk covered by pigeon poop 27 years ago.

[@murrijuana2842]

Same could be said about most cars.

[@HermanWillems]

You should have bought them up, and sold them. You would be rich now. :P Maybe you are rich now trough other means or just poor i don't know. Anyway they go for 30.000 euro's to up to 50.000 euro's and more here now in Europe. So like 280.000 Real each car. What do you think now you know the price of these things?

[@HarrietThugman]

Couldn't be more of a bs story.

[@ToyKingWonder]

We had a guy in Illinois that had a Plymouth Superbird with a broken wing that he had bolted together with two pieces of angle iron, and it had been spray painted. No one wanted them in 1976. Except for me.

[@gabrielkaminski8037]

I am 22 now When I was like 14, I went to São Paulo and saw one in a junkyard... Fell in love with the SP2 since I saw a picture of a scale model in a magazine when I was a kid. Really hard to see one nowadays Always loved it, for sure it's in my dream garage lol

[@brunobalestra]

Best looking VW ever! It was the first VW designed outside of Germany and the only foreign design in their museum. Love to see that such a Brazilian jewel is gracing American streets.

[@br_spec]

Are you sure it’s the only foreign design in their museum? I believed they had a Brazilian-designed Gol GTi in their museum as well. But I could be wrong.

[@brunobalestra]

@@br_spec it is as far as I know. Could be wrong as well. My knowledge is that they brought in the Gol to validate the design and engineering and a few ended up staying in Germany. There are tales of them visiting the Nurburgring, even. Not of them in the museum though. The one other Brazilian design in a German museum I know of is the Puma Malzoni GT (DKW) brought in by Audi, also being the only outsider in their museum.

[@NiteGambler]

to bad the same cannot be said of the Fox also made in Brazil.

[@BeetlerGus]

Such an awesome story, just the fact your father was there and knew on the spot it was something special! And now 40 years later still driving around like new. Thanks for sharing, you make us all proud

[@mancsblue]

I've never seen even photos of an sp2 It's absolutely stunning ! I see so many influences in the styling with this car . You picked the perfect wheels they look fantastic . Excellent video buddy

[@PJ-om2wq]

Hi from London, UK. I've never seen one of those. I'm not sure why you would wonder if you're going to get home in an air-cooled VW. I don't personally particularly like them, but they do have a reputation of simple reliability compared with other classics.

[@Ozhull]

You're completely glossing over the point that he made. He said he's worried because he's driving an OLD air-cooled VW. Not only that, one that he's highly modified.

[@eyesodd]

@@Ozhull All aircooled VW's are old, modified or not they are still one of the most reliable classics. I've a built 1776cc on twin 40's and it took me all across Europe without fault.

[@joerosen5464]

A good friend of mine & his buddy went on a holiday across America in his VW Camper van. Had a 1700cc engine, I think. Had maybe just over 63,000 miles on it. They came back to Canada without it, sold it to a wrecker for bus fare. An excellent deal, AFAIC. Even a 1.4 litre engine from a Hyundai Pony was more powerful & durable than any air-cooled VW piece of crap.

[@eyesodd]

@@joerosen5464 That's the beauty of the aircooled VW motors, low stressed with a max factory output of 40bhp. Considering its a 30's design of course an car the Pony designed in the 70's was more powerful. More reliable? I doubt it, when was the last time you actually saw a Pony compared to the 23million+ beetles built. Sounds like your friends didn't understand basic maintenance.

[@connorbasile]

Absolutely awesome car. Incredible story. Love that your grandfather cared for and kept the car forever, and glad you’re keeping it in the family.

[@PatrickCurrie1]

As far as reliability goes I've had 9 beetles and none of them have ever let me down, not once. I don't understand the statement that old air cooled VW drivers are always wondering if they'll get home.

[@fernandesf.miranda7823]

Também não entendo essa "depreciação"! Já tive vários Fuscas e viajava 1000 km ida e volta pra casa da minha mãe. A metade do percurso nem era pavimentada e os besouros sempre aguentavam os trancos!

[@AM562]

It is a very beautiful and gorgeous car. I’m glad the KZbin recommended this video to me to learn about a car from a brand I like.

[@janhanchenmichelsen2627]

Remember a saw one here in Bergen, Norway many years ago. Stunning good looks, better looking than most Porsches of the seventies. (Well, I like both the very early 911 models and the weird and - as SP2 - not very fast 914).

[@tutapine]

This car is part of my childhood memories. Happy to see this car being appreciated, even in Brazil where it was forgotten for a long time, today it is part of the great collections of automotive enthusiasts.

[@Cabooseified]

You're right, I've never heard of or seen this car. Thanks for showing it and telling it's story.

[@SKYSAW59]

Insane that this stunning little car was not sold Worldwide!

[@william-131]

Beautiful and quirky car. The 15” alloys look huge on this!

[@bobyk87]

Great seeing the Yankees appreciate some old car from Brazil. This is a special one, worth a fortune here. You mention the VW Brasilia and their headlights the SP2 borrowed from. I'd like to mention I got here a 1979 Brasilia from dad. It was a "super beetle" repackaged in a hatchback fashion, front disc brakes from factory, some other changes. It was manufactured from 73 to 82, having many changes. It gave it's place to the first VW Gol, initially aircooled, but soon to be watercooled. Alcohol engines were being offered, including the aircooled, with changes in the carburetors etc. The lines of the Brasilia are cool but at the same time different, or weird to some. There was little room on the front trunk, owners had to "expose" much stuf over the engine which was funny. The Brasilia was offered also in Mexico, some african countries and some middle eastern countries also. Greets from Brazil!!!

[@BAYBAY_316]

Glad you commented. Cool info bro

[@jonascourtney5999]

those first alcohol VW Gol were a nightmare, it came missing a relay to switch from gasoline and alcohol, so a lot of them were OK in the summer but in some states would have trouble starting. a lot of guys were into the VW Passat, Puma GT, VW Variant, VW Karmann Ghia, VW Parati, VW Voyager,........

[@bobyk87]

You are right Sir. I'm inclined to think the whole ethanol thing was to "make people's lives easier". And this pleague is a reality around the globe now, ethahol blends and stuff. I love it so much.

[@RealValensco]

SP2 is rare even here in Brazil. The father of one of my best friends worked at VW on the SP2 assembly line and had a few restored years ago, one of them is now at VW museum in Germany.

[@CreepyT]

What a killer design! Looks like a lot of fun to drive. Makes me miss my German '71 Type III Squareback.

[@garthwebb6418]

I’d come across the SP2 before but only in pictures. What a beautiful cool, rare car (and a VW at that) and a great story! Love your walk around of the car. Fantastic! And those wheels are so great, I mean perfect! What a machine! Cheers!

[@BigDadsMoto]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@samirdaniel2007]

Eu acho incrível saber que um SP2 conseguiu ir pra outro País e ainda ser muito bem cuidado, espero q esse carro dure muitos anos por ai, a satisfação que vem em ver esse maravilhoso carro da engenharia Brasileira, sendo tão bem elogiado. Realmente parabéns você e seu avô possuí em muito bom gosto.

[@dallisb1047]

I have liked these for years, although I have never seen one. Just kinda cool and quirky looking. Having your Grandpa's car must be sweet. I am happy to have two of my Grandpa's lamps from the 60's.

[@ingo_8628]

Its so pretty and the rims fit very well, i think it looks like something between 911 and Alpine A310.

[@playingwithcars6169]

Love love love these! So rare, so cool. This one looks amazing!

[@thomshere]

***I think this is one of the coolest cars that I have ever seen and oh my you are a very lucky guy thanks to a awesome grandpa.*** My dad bought me a fully road-worthy 1967 Volkswagen Beetle in 1973 and since I was about four years away from my drivers license, I drove that thing through trails to the lake behind my house which had really big hills around it which I ran up and down no problem and because of that steel plate that ran the distance underneath the car, the worst thing that ever happened was I accidentally run up on a rock and couldn't get it off until my dad got our tractor to pulled me out and wasn't even mad. I had the greatest dad in the world as far as I'm concerned and I'm sure many other people would agree. I lost my dad when I was 22 years old and he was my best friend and an amazing guy and he had after almost 33 years, had just retired from GM's Pontiac Motors division and only lived 1.5 years and we had many many plans to do things together. You never know what could happen it could just take a second so enjoy your family and friends and do what you can with them now and don't put things off. Thanks very much for this special car video and I hope you can pass it down through the family and I hope it last forever!

[@mase7557]

That ABSOLUTELY IS the best looking Volkswagen that I have ever seen.

[@franciscobassi3597]

I remember seeing the two page ad for the SP2 when it came out. Just a side view of the car. No models or exotic landscape. No need. Nice job, what a beauty!

[@Comet-hn3gm]

The early VW Bugs were so fun to drive. My parents had a Black 62 Bug, and really low on power but I still enjoyed driving it and it looked fantastic. Your car is very cool. I didn't even know they existed. I own and drive and work on for my living, American Muscle Cars and Hot Rod type cars, but really like small Old imports as well.

[@eyesodd]

Indeed, I had a 72 which I traded for a 60,much prefer the 60 even if it is more basic, doesn't even have a fuel gauge 😁. The little aircooled weren't called Giant Killers for nothing, check out this 12 second full bodied panel van from the UK. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJPMd5mEptN4jpI

[@Comet-hn3gm]

@@eyesodd that would be great to drive that Bus.

[@eyesodd]

@@Comet-hn3gm Yeah bet its like riding a bucking bronco! The little fiat on the last run is quick too, both engines built by the same guy.

[@Comet-hn3gm]

@@eyesodd I remember riding around in a 61 Fiat 600 with my mom when I was a kid. Me and my brothers called it 'the town car ' because my mom would go and get auto parts from the parts warehouse in the next town up the road.

[@timo55x]

Super cool car, never heard of it or seen one, didn’t know it existed. It was definitely ahead of it’s time. Thanks for making this video and sharing it with the world!

[@rocon86]

That is probably one of the nicest VW's I've ever seen.

[@ciddax754]

Wow! Those are SO rare. My mum has a beattle and we went to many aircooled VW events. There I saw once an SP2: The owner got it in totally wrecked condition from an GI in Frankfurt, who brought it from brazil to germany. The old engine was completly blown and one of the pre-owners made it wide. There was no chance to restore it to it's old glory for a reasonable price. So he went totally crazy and plunged the drive train and engine of a totalled carrera into it. That SP-2 was such a beast.

[@davidfalwell8306]

You should really let Doug DeMuro open this beautiful VW to the car world!

[@eduk-]

Very nice story with your grandfather, congratulations for the car and for the dedication in taking care of it.

[@BigDadsMoto]

Thank you very much!

[@poplaurentiu4148]

@@BigDadsMoto Woaw.. i'm (around 45 years old) and watching your clip from Europe and never hear about this type of Volkswagen over here, So anyway i just wanted to say tank you for presenting and showing the full tour of your rare cool car ! Hard to see such beauties these days. My dad imported from Australia another crazy car Giocatollo suppose to be used latter in Group-B but from 85' sadly FIA banned all Group-B cars and i got stuck with a car that can not be used on streets.

[@vonhalberstadt3590]

Wow. Never knew about this car and I've owned and worked on VWs and Porsches since 1968. Wunderbar!

[@toddanderson6952]

Honestly never seen or heard of this car. It is beautiful. Don’t know what the factory wheels looked like but your upgrade looks perfect on it.

[@dennisdose5697]

Easily my favorite VW design. I was going to qualify it and say favorite air cooled VW, but no, it looks better than any other to me (I really like the gen 1 Scirroco also) . Great propositions. BTW, hot wheels has made an SP2, grabbed one of those the moment I saw it. Cool car. 😎 Enjoy!

[@matheus_ps]

As a Brazilian it's really cool to see one in the US, even more with it's history with your grandfather. This car is really really rare even in Brazil, and the ones that are still in good shape are kept stationary in someone's garage, I don't remember seeing one in person...

[@fernandesf.miranda7823]

É o que percebo também! Moro em Brasília e tenho um dos provavelmente 10 ou 15 existente por aquí e em 43 anos vivendo nesta cidade, só já vi 9 desses carros e atualmente apenas 3 circulam e são exibidos normalmente em encontros da categoria. Acredito que outros 12 no máximo estão há décadas estacionados em garagens.

[@janataman9196]

The good old VW-technique is anything, but not unrelieable. So in reality, you never has to pose yourself the question if you reach home again.. ^^

[@RandyJM21]

Yeah , they were simple to work on and fix which meant many people fiddled with them and if your of a certain age may have aquired one that was kept running by who Knows who and " rebuilt" how many times and they did have that reputation to some degree and if you drove with somebody it wasnt rare for some minor thing to go wrong and depending on who was driving be able to fix it on spot or fix it easily coming back with tools / parts or fix it later somehow but there were a lot of them that had had miles and were passed through many owners or modified by kids as projects and over carbed or whatever . Not so much the design of the engine itself . Too many people VWs were a love and to others they were something else including the only car for 100-200 $ that was running , didnt take up too much space , fuel effecient and if it did break somebody you knew could probably fix it or help you drop a new engine in , they were mass produced and lots around so for a time were seen as throw away cars despite also being like legos and rebuildable and they varied widely in how well kept they were and many people drove them in low states of reliability and needed choke or special hand to start or whatever .

[@TuNnL]

7:44 “And because it’s an air-cooled Volkswagen, there’s always that little bit of fear of ‘Am I going to make it home?” 😂🔧🤣

[@memsybabe]

That looks amazing. Why on earth didn't VW carry on with this? Thanks for sharing.

[@kmoecub]

VW Brasil was building under license. The build cost on this car was high, and the profit margin low. VW Germany had almost nothing to do with the car.

[@BeatleDustino]

Very cool. I remember when Hot Wheels made an SP2 some years back. I was a VW guy that owned a Corrado and became obsessed with the SP2 based on that Hot Wheels. Great video and story! Thanks for sharing.

[@KingCast65]

I'm 57. I remember!!!

[@jaybee6280]

new cars have nothing on older cars. Great that you have a passion for it!

[@chrisst8922]

Designed by Marcio Piancastelli, that nose is called a Leiding nose. After VW chief Rudolf Leiding. BMW's acquired much the same look. I assume that color is Sun Yellow.

[@princesssolace4337]

This is the 1st time the title fits the content

[@stuffhappens5681]

Whomever penned the styling of that car deserves recognition. They took the Beetle to a remarkable level. Those wheels are perfect. I suppose tightening regulations on headlight height and impact bumpers, etc., probably prevented it from being mass marketed. Absolutely beautiful car though. Thanks for sharing.

[@BigDadsMoto]

Márcio Piancastelli designed the SP2 and the Brasilia. It's too bad his designs didn't receive more global sales success.

[@stuffhappens5681]

@@BigDadsMoto - Global sales success means designing around a mountain of environmental and safety regulations. Everything from headlight height, shape, mounting. hood height and shape. Sill height. Impact bumpers. Crumple zones. Door beams, on and on… There’s a reason the majority of cars look like a used bar of soap. It’s amazing Supercars still exist.

[@n1vca]

First time I see a beautiful VW and I am a German in Germany. Had no clue VW employed designers with taste! Brilliant - congratulations! It is much more attarctive than a 911.

[@Dwendele]

That's the beauty of old sports cars. They're no so fast that they scare you when pushing it. You can drive them to the limits of their capability and have an absolute blast, whereas in a truly fast car, you have to be more restrained.

[@BMPellogia]

The SP-2 was a direct response to cars like the Puma GTE, but it was more heavy and struggled to keep up with the puma even after vw increased the compression of the engine to 1700cc, not mentioning that it was much more expensive.

[@frankschwartz7405]

>> vw increased the compression of the engine to 1700cc

[@AfonsoBucco]

@@frankschwartz7405 yep. they increased DISPLACEMENT since 1600 to 1700 cubic centimeters, or 1.7 litters but, compression ratio were probably higher too. for sure, the camshaft is more aggressive than beetle of the same year, when most Brazilian beetles had up to 1500 engine. my Brazilian VW 1600 Variant also have an original better camshaft than a beetle. People say there is not a huge difference between 1600 and 1700. The biggest advantage of SP-2 was the higher gear ratio, allied to a small weight and a really small frontal area. The feeling is it is something really fast. And it's a roadster by comparison, once you can hit something like 170 km/h. more than 100 mph.

[@svgitana2499]

Wow, really cool design!!😮😮😮 I love the lines of the car and the rear of the car is really beautiful!! 🙌🏻

[@nimueh4298]

Never knew Volkswagen made a car that look like this. Beautiful styling.

[@donaldfite]

I'm a car junky and I have never seen one of these before.... Totally looks like a Porsche.... Love it

[@Weissenschenkel]

Your SP-2 not only looks mint but the wheels gave it a very nice looking! In the 1970's I used to see these little beasts with magnesium alloy wheels called "roda gaúcha" and other models like those vintage JDM wheels from the 1980's. As already commented, this is by far the most beautiful car VW ever made. Congratulations on your wonderful ride!

[@williamscheuer5933]

You are so lucky to be the caretaker of this rare gem…especially here in the states! It is in outrageous condition. I have seen others that did not look so good. It really shows the years of care! Yep, the headlight bezels are also used on the VW 412. I just finished the restoration on my mom’s 1973 412 wagon in maya gold metallic. Glad I stored this car away years ago. I always loved it… unfortunately not many people did. Back in the day the 412 was an expensive car for a VW and also pretty hard to work on. That was it’s downfall. Not sure what you mean about maybe not making it home with an air cooled VW? They were pretty simple and dependable if you followed the service routine… especially the beetles. Strange engine tin noises you say? Not if the tin is all tight and installed correctly. Love your SP 2. Looks to be in good hands! Thanks for sharing.

[@72442conv]

I used to ride on a lot of old Volkswagens when I was a kid in the 80's. I can sympathize with the "you never know if you are going to make it home feeling", but we always made it home, maybe not without having to tinker with it, but we always made it home. Those air cooled VW engine are mechanically extremely reliable, what can go wrong, like points, fuel lines, filters etc... are easily serviceable on the side of the road. The biggest problem with them was when your fuel line decided to start leaking close the carb and the fuel leaked onto your distributor and started a fire. Happened to us once... After that we learned to always keep new fuel lines from the fuel pump to the carb, and to always check them for leaks.

[@miket3509]

For those wondering about the engine, a 2054cc VW engine is a type 1 or type 3 with the bore increased to 94mm and stroke increased to 74mm.

[@heinzr9734]

Thanks for the video. I grew up in Germany and VWs were just always everywhere, Beetles, minivans, VW 1500 etc. What they all had in common was that they were extremely boring. I was 13 years old in 1972 and my father had a car catalog with all the makes and models from all over the world. Then I saw the SP2 in this international car catalog and I just didn't want to believe that the SP2 looked like it did. Just very cool. Of course it was not a sporty car but as the video here shows the basic proportions are very good to make it a sporty car. I bet if this car had been sold in Germany there would have been a community for the SP2 because of the nice shape. You could have used the Porshhe 912 engine or as your family did probably with your single example, the Type 4 engine from the 1975 VW 412 and Porsche 912E. Anyway...I would still be interested in who designed the SP2, I will google now.

[@flavioc5389]

When I was a child in Brazil, these cars were old rusty laughingstocks, nobody wanted them. People asked “how it can be a sportscar if it’s a Beetle underneath?!” Anyway, just look how beautiful it is when properly restored?! Stunning! Congrats on your car!

[@HermanWillems]

They sell here in Europe for 280.000 Real. What do you think, knowing the price of these cars right now? Still a laughingstock? =)

[@ToyKingWonder]

As it was with every kit car made, and people still had fun with those as well.

[@SVW1976]

Its amazing there's still cars out there I've never seen. 👍 The more I look at it the more i like it. The wheels seem to be the perfect style. Looks factory. I can't help but wonder if a air cooled Porsche engine could be swapped in for better performance? Hope to see some footage of this beauty on the move from outside.

[@BigDadsMoto]

We have some new rolling shots coming. Please subscribe so you don't miss them.

[@ruslannunez4449]

Certain Volkswagen designs will grab your attention .Thanks for sharing your grandfather's timeles gem.

[@luizfelipevieira1158]

Cheers from Brazil! This is one of my favorite cars ever done here, such a marvelous body, really a shame that It didn't have good engine and mechanics to back It up. Truly a beautiful design, I can't understand why WV didn't use the project on another places, with good performance upgrades. Your car is gorgeous and we can see the good care it has received over the years. Congratulations! Hope your channel explodes soon and you get thousands of viewers! Keep up the good work!

[@ddemier]

Wow never seen a SP-2 before! Thanks for taking the time to show us. Very cool car!

[@WayApp]

Wow, this Volkswagen is like a hidden gem!

[@AndrewJohnClive]

Thanks for the share - never seen that before!! Well, I have a VW Notchback 1500 in the mid-90's for a good few years, and not once did I ever worry about that not getting me home. That 1500 flat four from a Beetle is superb!!

[@viperlike2]

Never heard of it. Love it, its beautiful

[@pablocruiser209]

Great video. I loved these cars along with the Puma when I was in Brasil in 76. I'd love to get my hands one.

[@cfmagal]

A brazilian masterpiece with a german soul!I lived in Rio de Janeiro at my childhood in the 70s and I always loved this beatifull car everytime i saw one. Hot Wheels released this model some years ago and it was a huge sucess for diecast collectors all over the world,mostly in Brazil(lol)!

[@vaughansias9380]

I'm 32 now in 2024 and it's the first time I've seen this car on INSTAGRAM 😂😂😂, love at first sight😍

[@RayNWall]

Beautiful V dub however I’ve never wondered if any of my VWs would leave me stranded. I always felt that the air cooled VW engines were the most reliable car engine ever produced.

[@petergorm]

Wow, what a beautiful car! I have never seen a VW SP2 before. Also a great story how your grandfather got it.

[@DF-lg1tm]

Amazing! We love this car here in Brazil! You can see one of this in the VW museum in Germany as well

[@marceloabdoraposo6019]

Congratulations from Brazil. All my respect to your grandfather.

[@LewisRhymes]

Those wheels are gorgeous! 👌

[@truebras]

Some of reasons that VW Brasil didn’t sell more SP2 are. Building cost per unit was high. So, very low profit per unity. While VW was manufacturing Beetles, VW Buses and Type 2, the SP was made basically by hand. I believe that perhaps at Karmann Ghia facilities in San Bernardo dos Campos. Karmann Ghia was located next to VW factory. There was long wait list to get hands in a SP2 for the first 1 1/2 or 2 years. I know about this because I had an older cousin that was in the list for quite some time. So, if you said that your grandpa just walked in a dealership and bought the car, means that he may have done by the back door. At the time prices of new cars were controlled by the military government. There were such thing like paying more over listed price during that time. However the main reason that the SP 2 failed is that VW Brasil launched a car a year later that in many ways was better. The 1st gen Passat. It was cheaper, produced in a real assembly line, dynamically far superior with a modern water cooled engine and way more practical than SP 2. Back then, the majority of Brazilian had to do with just one car. So, the SP 2 was not the type of car for most Brazilians. And about one year after VW released the Passat, it launched the Passat TS which was the equivalent to Golf GT for Brazilian market. That really obliterated the market of SP 2. My cousin like the majority in the waiting list for SP 2 end up buying the Passat TS. By 1975, the SP 2 was viewed as outdated mechanic and very sluggish. VW Brasil could have sold much higher numbers of SP 2 if they set up a conventional assembly line. There was a single unit of SP 3 developed by VW dealer named Dacon. It had a water cooled VW inline 4 of Passat mounted reversed in the same location of boxer 4. The radioator was mounted in the front. But as far as I know that dealership didn’t sell a single unit because the price of its conversion was way to high. Perhaps an imported 914 was cheaper the whole SP 2 plus conversion into SP 3 package. Dacon was also the official importer of Porsche in the country. I don’t like the wheels that you chose. It had nothing to do with originals. In my opinion, even the OEM steel ones look better. Or to keep with the era, Fuchs wheels would look so much better. I always wonder how a SP with 914 or even 911 motors would do in this model. I’ve seen a Puma GT with a air cooled 911 and that sounded great. SP 2 were exported in small numbers to few countries in Latin America and even smaller number to Europe.

[@fernandesf.miranda7823]

Muito esclarecedor seu posto! Realmente muitas informações. Há muitos boatos sobre o carro, alguns um tanto pitorescos, então não se sabe exatamente em que acreditar, no entanto o seu relato tem muita coerência com a realidade da época. Eu tive o meu primeiro SP2 já em 1986 e vendi pouco tempo depois, quando grande parte deles já estava sendo abandonada em galpões, garagens e ferro velhos. Voltei a adquirir outro em 2011, que está em processo de restauração geral.

[@scotthimrod347]

"Am I gonna make it home.." Brilliant! 🥂

[@carlosmcmahon623]

Thank you for sharing I have never seen a vehicle like that. It is always nice to find a vehicle, that you have never seen before; especially, since I read every car and truck magazine.

[@weirdprojects607]

That is a beautiful car, Brandon! Keep the content coming!

[@bopie5172]

Damn that is one gorgeous car!!!😍😍

[@giojiokuhara9122]

Awesome! Cheers from Brazil. I used to own an SP 2 in the 70’s. Thanks for sharing . Brought back nice memories!

[@aschneider70]

SP2 is the most fantastic car projected in Brazil. It is roots, all we can have here in those days. A tour de force of brazilian VW.

[@philtucker1224]

Beautiful body work, a fabulous shape! (I wonder how nice it would be to drive if it had a really smooth water cooled engine fitted). Never ever seen one of these..

[@RandyJM21]

That is crazy, thats is Amazing looking . It looks like a Porsche that isnt ugly . I mean for Volkswagen it is very hard to comprehend the design as such . Ghia's certainly have charm . Scirroco's , 914s look ugly cool , I thought they were neat as a kid . Never been a fan of Bugs since a teenage friend had the brakes fail going into his driveway and crashing into the concrete wall of the half in half out basement of the house at the speed one does pulling into a driveway 2 cars long and he found hinself looking directly into the window of that room with the front of the car up to dash or what would be firewall crushed . He is 6 4 and his injuries were minor compared to what the car looked like > that VW was in his family a whiile owned by his Dad who was the #2 Plane over on D-day which was a recon plane who was a pilot for Pan Am who also had a VW Bus . My friend spent a bunch of time in VWs and he told me and everybody to never get inside a bug and would not himself after "crash" and they seem "nuts' to drive in the U.S. in particular but anywhere really ( and I rode motorcycles for decades). I thought the 924 -944 was the best looking thing ever associated with VW both of which are nice designs with 944 one of the Porsche designs that is straight good looking . This car is stunning all around with design elements from Porsche Cars looking like a 911 , 924 , 928 with some italian design from some perspective . It is a VERY cool shape that is very clean with some cool smaller design accents . One of the most surprising WTF moments I have had thinking I was aware of a bunch of rare or not well known cars and seeing this I was shocked . Shocked it was German and VW in particular . It makes perfect sense its a VW once you get over the fact that it is beautiful in a traditional way while still being retaining a little Porsche taste which is something that often needs to be aquired . Add in it is an ACTUAL peoples car meaning something you didnt have to have soul selling levels of money to buy . Im sure it was expensive for a VW and "what it was " like German Cars often are . I mean if these were sold in the U.S. at any kind of reasonable price I would imagine they would have sold very well and there would have been people hot rodding these like crazy considering what people did with bugs and pretty much everybody going from re building briggs and stratton engines as a kid and then going to VW air cooled engines to learn because of simplicity and availibility , parts etc . The porsche engine swap bugs and busses , baja bugs and all that . VW is just associated with ugly , cute ugly , attractive ugly and quirky or utilitarian ugly , hippy ugly , Nazi's and German Military and of course early collab or birthing Porsche or whatever relationship it was is and then in the fuel crunch the Rabbit and then the creation of the Hot Hatch boxes and cultish but also wide adoption . This is very different . I wonder if it wasnt just problems with U.S . safety and design regs that kept this in country with large German Population in SA . This looks like a car that Porsche would get " BUG" up their ass about being more attractive then a Porsche and if it had the logo's would just be a slow Porsche or slower Porsche considering these engines in different displacements are what Porsches were powered by in some cases . I like it better then a 912 and with the wheels you put on that are PERFECTION without knowing its a VW that came with a pokey 1.7 engine of minimal out put designed for price , simplicity and mass production at first glance it is very exotic looking and dead sexy . I would have to see one in person but I fully understand Big Daddy getting a Big Daddy when he saw it and deciding she will be mine on first look , but I am willing to go out on a limb and say its amongst some of the coolest designs I have seen from the era of the niccest designs of cars and it looks like a repository of design language porsche has pulled from using some cue's that Im not sure too many Porsches actually match , in fact it has the basic design of so much of what came later from other MFGs even if it does borrow some Italian inspiration of the Era or vis versa . Its like a car you can see what you want in it depending on angle . So , yeah I like it . I might want to fiddle with it even beyond what you have done which is PERFECT and does nothing to take away from original design or experience . But at 56 and not invicible anymore and growing up in the 70s and 80s where funerals of grade shool and paricularly high school kid / friend funerals from car accidents were a regular affair and you might attend 2 or more in a week and VWs that were even then considered death traps with the seat rail issues and my best friends refusal to get in one after very low speed crash and personally surving but damaged for life in accidents not of my making or ability to avoid as well as ones where I was a passenger or even ones my fault over driving a car away from public as well as all the people I know and knew who survived car wrecks but messed up in some physical way and emotional way from horrific stuff surviving a wreck to realize every body in the car is dead and missing their heads etc ( real shit) , I am paranoid driving modern cars that are so much safer it is hard for people to grasp . So I would want some structural mods and more of everything which would essentially ruin such a great example of a cool thing . I usally am not precious about old car's and things but this is too cool and has that family thing which also calls for a certain amount of respect of which you have given it and I can see enjoying it the way you do depending on where one lives in smallish doses and just looking at is enjoyable. Even the interior as you pointed out from what I see in the video looks bad ass . The seats the way they have thigh support and drop your ass in with high backs and neck protectionare great . the simple but great looking dash without any goofy materials or gimmiky crap looks all business as it should . Awesome car , I learned something including that VW and the Germans CAN make beautiful cars that are not entirely form following function ( its not the only one ever , but its one of the coolest and not just an Italian design with a BMW engine or whatever , a super expensive porsche or mercedes like a gull wing . I love Pantera's and some other oddball car's are foot notes from un expected places . This is like the ULTIMATE VW KIT CAR except its fully a factory car that appears extremely well executed . Such a shame it didnt make it to the biggest market , one wonders how it would have done. The 914 did ok but it was expensive , " weird " looking even if I find them interesting and not as ugly as most people do but this is objectively good looking and 912s are expensive now because they are 911s with VW engine and this reminds me of something similar although no idea about how they compare in regards to handling etc or what the price of this was in the day and how it would compare to a 912 , 914 and other hybrid porsche / vw products . This is one of a few times a You Tube Video made a claim that was not click bait for me . This is in fact the ' Coolest VW I have never seen ". I am extremely picky about wheels and I cant imagine this car with any other wheels after seeing this . I hope theres more vids about other aspects of the car . Definitely enamoured with it and i see what your Grand Dad saw .

[@philtucker1224]

Hi Randy! I’ve never seen so much ever written as a comment on KZbin it’s amazing to see. Do you write for any automotive magazines as a profession?

[@RandyJM21]

@@philtucker1224 Thanks but No my Grammer and mistakes would not be so abundant nor such a ramble if I were any type of writer . I just enjoy stream of consciousness writing that goes all over and pulls from personal experience even if I am not an expert . By doing so , pulling from personal experience it means I don't need to be an expert to write how I feel about something truthfully with some small amount of accuracy and by writing it out this way clarifies my own thoughts on what I think of something and why . It's just what I think and I might take different views on any particular subject because that is how people are generally and always in Flux . It's a great habit to write stuff AGAINST your own beliefs to test ideas and understand stuff in general . Writing stuff out has the ability to clarify how or why you feel how you do or just playing with ideas to see where they go which might even change your own mind when you read it back . I'm not a good writer and never had much need to write , so just writing hopefully improves it somewhat , it's a low stake endeavor and nobody has to read it, but it does take form and there Is some motivation and impetus on YT too add your commentary , so it is more likely to occur and is probably good considering it keeps ones brain working, as well as accessing memories and concepts which is like doing word puzzles and hopefully has some cognitive benefit which is thought to be true , that if you engage your brain in language " games " and puzzles " your cognitive decline can be stopped or reversed . It also stops you from just watching and not DOING which can cause mush brain . As long as you aren't trolling or bothering with circular arguments . KZbin offers the ability to take subjects and see what you might be able to write about them and how you can pull from other things and bring them back in the end to what you think . I started off with the idea that I liked the car design , went on a pretty wild Tangent ride and then pulled it back at the end to say the same thing about my initial impression hopefully in some unique way . It really did make an impression on me , the CAR as well as the story which reminded me of my friends father who had him at an advanced age which made him more like a Grandfather as well as added what was special about him as a man and linked that to his appreciation of German Cars despite being a WW2 Pilot fighting the Germans and the role of VW in the War Machine effort . Which is where I could also make a link between VW or Volkswagon which means Peoples Car in German and how that dovetails into Hitlers ( who I mentioned ) populist vision of being a hero for the people and promising cars ( taking or stealing credit anyway ) and road systems for everybody by using as noted simplistic designs to make it attainable for more people , which there are remnants of today in VW cars that tend to not be flashy even if no longer a real People's Car in some cases and more upscale . Which Is why this car is so fascinating on some level as It breaks out of my personal conceptions of VWs with its beauty . As well as addressing one of the biggest issues when designing simple cars for low cost for so many people , keep in mind WW2 in some ways was a war fought over and lost by the Germans because of lack of gasoline and petroleum fuels , so a pre requisite for Adolph when pushing for the beetle was a car that didn't use huge amounts of fuel but could move a family ( he was big into people making babies ) so to do both things and still be affordable it had to be lightweight which is where driving old bugs and some other German , and foreign cars was an issue In the U.S who manufactured steel and had great reserves of oil and petroleum and the cars reflected it meaning If you got smashed by a giant Detroit Tank of a car in a Bug , like bugs , despite a good design and exoskeleton , being small and not having thick bones crush easy under force of something larger and heavier . I also mentioned where one lives in regards to enjoyment of a car like this that is a VW . That speaks to the difference in central planning of a smaller country like Germany and how they designed their road systems which are objectively better and because of that less inherent issues with a car like a bug because crashes are less likely from road design as well as road materials and simply because people spend less time driving so less chance of accidents per capita , highways designed for higher speeds for cars that can do it safely in one lane and another lane , lanes for smaller cars not going as far in a culture better at following rules as well as more training expected to get a driver's license as well as cars more nimble able to avoid and stop better, evens out some negatives . So when you bring a Bug to the U.S. you have extra disadvantages with people driving heavier cars that accelerate well but less able to avoid accidents . Which is the whole idea of German engineering and cars, was you might not get power but you had better control of the vehicle which meant you could drive faster with more control . Today Porsche offers both super indulgent power as well as great handling and braking and Mercedes became the standard of safety while offering the Big Car experience people liked with Cadillac for instance . Mercedes melded a bunch together to offer Size Safety Luxury Status along with better handling as well as managed to sell things like handling as Luxury which is also the BMW game as they developed . Shit, Mercedes was this first I would say to kick Cadillac in the balls changing the idea of luxury and Status in a meaningful way . Yeah , I can ramble.

[@philtucker1224]

@@RandyJM21 you certainly can! I guess nowadays such writings in excess is mainly reserved for authors as ultimately they will earn a living by doing it. (Have you had any books published? And if not, should you try?) I’m just thinking it would be a nice way to be remembered by your family when you are gone. Your knowledge of WW2 seems strong, maybe that would be a good subject? Regards.

[@FunYl]

Write a book already! 😄

[@RandyJM21]

@@philtucker1224 I appreciate it so much that I feel it may be the tipping point to action . I wrote a long exposition about my relationship to words , learning and writing but YT informed me that my experience is a argument as well as being invalid , which may be why I have been why I was an invalid in regards to writing for much of my life . Shame it was somewhat deep and I felt good about it but was denied, so. Thanks , your kindness may be more then you expected it to be but kindness works that way at its best and why it is I service to itself as the best option whenever applicable and to what level that doesn't attract the un kind . Thanks

[@cbrad]

Incredibly cool. Thank you so much for sharing this. I hope I get to see one in person someday.

[@mr.2cents.846]

Wow... beautiful. Those 15 inch wheels look huge on that car. I would have guessed 17 inch.

[@michaellavery4899]

When you said 'driving this old car is like...', I was fully expecting you to follow it up with '....making love to a beautiful woman.' Then I remembered The Fast Show wasn't broadcast in the USA, to the best of my knowledge. A shame because it would have been really appropriate and funny. Beautiful car I must agree. Wish they had sold them in the UK.

[@spiritwalker175]

The SP2 had very bold lines for the time and drew attention wherever it was. I rode a silver SP2 as a kid. One of the characteristics of the automobile industry in Brazil in the 1970s was the emergence of several sports cars with beautiful design (Puma, Bianco, Miura etc.) but with low performance, almost all using Volkswagen mechanics.

[@BloggsyMalone]

What an eye-catching, beautiful car!

[@charleswilson925]

Not sure if anyone before me said this but you should let Jay Leno do the expose on this vehicle. It's beautiful and deserves the notoriety.