Context: When considering the SEB versions of the 1300S Beetle there is no difference between the Fruit Series and Spring Messenger Group of Editions except that of paint finish and the fact that the Spring Messengers were specifically named in the Volkswagen Parts list of Sonderaktion models.
It is on the criteria of paint colour that the “Black is Beautiful” Edition is also included with the Spring Messenger Group which comprises of:
S 736 Sonderaktion *Frühlingsbote* (“inland”
S 785 Sonderaktion *Frühlingsbote* (“export”)
S 759 Sonderaktion *Black is Beautiful*
(We have included the Belgian market version of the S785 – the Opération Corail/Koraal Aktie – as a separate SEBeetles Profile because so much is specifically known about it.)
Both the S736 and S785 Spring Messengers Editions were exclusively 1300S SE models which benefitted from the installation of the larger rear lamp clusters differentiating them from the standard production 1973 1300 Beetle which retained the earlier “tombstone” style of lamps until the 1974 model year.
The Volkswagen Parts Sonderaktion “S” list includes the entry
S 759 Sonderaktion *Black is Beautiful*
ab Fg.Nr. 113 2606 864 bis 113 3200 999 Export, nicht USA, Kanada 111 – 114
ab Fg.Nr. 113 2606 864 bis 133 3200 999 Export, nicht USA, Kanada 1303: 135, 136
Until 2025 details, except for the listing information above and their paint colours, of any of the S 759 Sonderaktion *Black is Beautiful* models remains an Edition that, overall, we know very little about. Now thanks to a wealth of information about two surviving examples of S 759 production we can conclusively link these models to both the Spring Messenger Group of Editions, the Fruit Series Group of Editions and the Rallye Group of additions. Consistent with all the other flat windscreen SEBs produced in the 1973 model year the typ.113 S 759 Edition was also fitted with the larger rear lamp clusters.
Further reading on this website:
The individual profiles for:
Black Is Beautiful
Opération Corail/Koraal Aktie
Spring Messenger
SEB Production Articles::
E.3 – Badging
E.4 – Types
E.5 – Wheels
E.6 – European paint inclusive of Tables P-E.1 to P-E.7
“Retrospectively Speaking” editorial columns RS 004 and RS 005.
