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This one’s a bit of a strange duck. And if it doesn’t look familiar to you, don’t worry – it didn’t to me, either. What we’re looking at is a 1969 Volkswagen 1600L, which looks vaguely like the Notchback model offered here in the 1960s. Of course, I said vaguely…because we didn’t get a four-door variant, nor did this styling come here. So what is this wonder? Well, it comes from Brazil, of course, and it underneath a Type 3 just like the Notchback. But the Brazilian version was styled by Márcio Piancastelli, who is probably best known for the designs of the neat Brasilia model and the even neater SP2. The 1600, though, was not a huge design success for him. Nicknamed “Zé do Caixão” – ‘Coffin Joe’, the sedan version would go on to only be sold for three model years before it was discontinued. It was the basis for a larger estate version though, as well as the quite neat Karmann Ghia TC. So let’s take a look at this oddball:
Looking a bit like an alternate universe version of the early 80s Honda Accord hatchback, the Gol model was Volkswagen do Brasil’s replacement for the Brasilia . Based on a mix of components borrowed from the Audi B1 and B2 models, it initially was quite different than the Fox variants we’d see here in the late 80s. That’s because up front was not a familiar water-cooled engine; the Gol instead received a 1.3-liter flat-four from the Beetle under the front hood. Sound crazy? It was a bit, but it worked, and it was cheap – so it sold pretty well. They also made several different versions, including a Caddy-like ‘pickup‘ – but today we’re looking at an ’83 hatchback that’s already been imported:
