Paint and Upholstery:
L11A (B4) Riyadgelb / Tabac (cloth) (08)
L31B (G6) Marsrot / Parchment (cloth) (04)
L51C (K2) Miamiblau / Marine (cloth) (09)
L90E (P1) Alpinweiß / Marine (cloth) (09)
L97A (Z9 ) Diamantsilber-metallic / Marine (cloth) (09).
Technical Data:
1200cc typ. 112 unbadged.
Factory Fitted Optional Equipment:
None because these ‘Last Edition’ Beetles were standard production 1978 RHD 1200L models built to contemporary UK conformity requirements, having chassis numbers within the series 118 200 ****
Their Special Edition status was imparted by what was intended to be celebratory marketing and sales promotion initiatives described below.
Although imported without the adjustable head restraint option, several Last Edition examples were found with it fitted. This was due to the availability of Genuine Volkswagen parts sets, intended as workshop fitting kits, comprising two fully trimmed, ready-to-install head restraints, along with a pair of black plastic bayonet plug tubes and the height adjustment clips for each head restraint. These sets were a universal fit available to match all the upholstery colours in the then contemporary Volkswagen passenger car range. Installation was a comparatively easy job for the workshop or owner and merely necessitated the careful puncturing of the seat covering fabric to insert the plastic tubes down into the seat back where they clipped into the holes ready provided in the metal seat frame. The resulting finished job looked exactly as if the head restraints were factory-installed.
Context:
A UK celebration Edition which, sadly, ended up the subject of confusion thanks to uncoordinated marketing and sales promotion initiatives.
The importer VW(GB) Ltd. published a magazine advertisement “Going, going…” concurrent with the close of the 1977 model year that reinforced the already well-understood fact that European production of the Beetle saloon was scheduled to cease, and stocks of the last examples to be sold in the UK were being delivered to dealerships.
The Dealerships were issued with black and yellow promotional “Last Edition” material comprising display boards and banners.
The display boards carried the text
“ This is one of the last gallant 600 in Britain. First created over 40 years ago, the Beetle has become a legend in the history of the motor car. Loveable and ever reliable, the Beetle is a breed apart. Your very last chance to buy a part of motoring history. The Last Edition.”
In keeping with normal practice, the range of standard model paint and trim options was restricted for UK importations. From the extensive range of colours that the 1978 model 1200 was available in for Germany, only five colours were imported into the UK: Alpine White, Miami Blue, Mars Red, Riyad Yellow and Diamond Silver.
It appears that the planned intention was that the 300 Diamond Silver examples were to be the actual “Last Edition” models and celebrated as such with special display plaques announcing that fact, complete with a sequential serial number.
In reality, many of the 340 cars in solid colour paintwork from that last importation batch of 640 (not 600 as initially advertised) were displayed in dealer showrooms in the winter of 1977 and the New Year of 1978 under the “Last Edition” banners with purchasers sincerely believing that they were buying a “Last Edition”. Just to further compound the matter, some Dealerships received stocks of the solid colour models well ahead of the ones finished in Diamond Silver.
The confusion was compounded by the fact that the distribution of the special plaques became disconnected from, and sent out later than, the distribution of some of the 300 cars finished in Diamond Silver. Disappointingly, some of the 300 cars intended to have plaques never received them, and worse still,l examples of cars not intended to have them were fitted with them – including a documented case of a 1303 Cabriolet.
Contemporary rumour at the time also suggested that importation and distribution of this last batch of 640 cars was disrupted by a heavy weather North Sea crossing from Emden, which necessitated some appropriate bodywork rectification to some cars before dispersal throughout the UK.
Another contemporary rumour also circulating at the time was that the Diamond Silver cars were initially ordered with the intention of them being celebratory of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne, but which then became transposed to being celebratory of the last importation given timescale lags and the imminence of the cessation of production at Emden.
A few examples of where a Diamond Silver car displayed with the” Last Edition” promotional showroom material and matched up to its plaque did exist in the winter of 1977/78. One such occasion is recorded on the highly recommended resource of the Last Edition Beetle Register website.
The final official importation batch of 640 Beetles into the UK was produced by Volkswagen AG at Emden (Germany), where production was due to finish completely in mid-December 1977, but a last-minute extra order from Japan meant that production continued until 19th January 1978. Of these 640 cars, the 300 Diamond Silver cars are now retrospectively regarded as the “Last Edition” models.
Sales Literature:
No “Last Edition” sales literature was published, although the importer VW(GB)Ltd produced a magazine advert and the showroom display material described above.
However, because these UK “Last Edition” cars were standard 1978 production models, the UK version of the familiar style, yellow cover, European Beetle sales brochure for that year defines the specification of the UK “Last Edition”, save for the fact that it only listed the four solid colour paint finishes and not Diamond Silver.
See also Glory Beetle.
