VW Designers Sought Earnestness of Early Beetle

VOLKSWAGEN DESIGN CHIEF KLAUS Bischoff puts a finer point on the German auto maker's motivation behind its redesign of the '12 Beetle, saying the goal was not so much to inject masculinity into the iconic car as it was to take it back to its post-war roots.

“I won't do a car that I cannot see myself in,” Bischoff tells Ward's after the New York auto show unveiling. “It was a product with a lot of compromises.

“It was successful, especially for the American market and important for giving the brand momentum,” he adds, but was hardly the early driver-centric car Ferdinand Porsche penned.

So designers set out to capture the earnestness of the early Beetle, focusing on a facial expression carrying more seriousness than whimsy. “We did not want to prolong the toy-ish design of its predecessor,” he says. “We wanted to go back to a look that concentrated on the future…And not cute.”

At the same time, Bischoff did not want an overly aggressive expression. For example, the front end again uses the headlamps for the car's iconic “eyes,” but the light projectors now include small silver “brows” to impart earnestness.

In addition, designers replaced the classic Beetle's chrome bumper with a black air intake, which provides a horizontal element to complete the facial expression. “We came up with a design that looks serious and non-aggressive, like a good friend,” he says.

Arguably a more male friend, Bischoff admits. The longer hood suggests a bigger engine. A wider track gives the vehicle a sportier look. A more sloped roofline enhances the coupe design. And the quirky flower vase has been jettisoned.

The result, he says, is an automotive design and not a product design, as before.

“Now the entire design leads to the process of having fun while you're driving,” Bischoff says. “Before, it was like driving in your living room — there was a table here, a flower there. The concentration was on the inside. Now it is more performance-oriented, more like a sports car.”

He says a design competition was put out for his staff, a gamut of offerings was returned and the auto maker settled on something between the most conservative and the most outlandish. “There was common agreement we needed to follow the design cues of the original.”

Bischoff also reveals the Beetle redesign almost did not happen, as management back in Wolfsburg considered putting the nameplate on the shelf. Ultimately, they could not give up on such a known entity as the auto maker begins the most aggressive growth period in its history.

Expect future VW designs, such as the next Golf, to depart from the mainstream, Bischoff says.