Volkswagen · 1972–1975

Volkswagen SP2

The Volkswagen SP2 is a sports car that was developed by Volkswagen do Brasil and built from July 1972 until December 1975. It is based on the chassis of the Brazilian market Volkswagen Type 3. "SP" is said to be an initialism of São Paulo, where the car was built, or of "sports prototype". In its issue of 20 June 1973, German technology magazine Hobby called the SP2 the "most beautiful Volkswagen in the world".

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Successor: Volkswagen Passat

All Volkswagen SP2 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years → + Compare

History

Beginning in August 1952, as part of efforts to spur development of an indigenous automobile industry, Brazil began enacting a series of progressively more restrictive laws that effectively closed their market to imports. The domestic manufacturers were usually divisions of larger multinational firms, and offered little in the way of sportscars, leaving local independent carmakers to fill the gap. Brazilian sportscars before the SP2. From 1962 to 1966, the local division of Willys-Overland Motors produced a version of the Alpine A108 called the Willys Interlagos. In 1963, Italian immigrant Genaro "Rino" Malzoni unveiled his DKW GT Malzoni. In 1964, Malzoni became one of the founders of Sociedade de Automóveis Lumimari Ltda, dedicated to building increasingly refined versions of his namesake car. In 1966, the company changed its name to Puma Veículos e Motores Ltda, and unveiled their debut model, the Puma GT. While the earliest Puma GTs were powered by three cylinder, two-stroke DKW engines, Malzoni redesigned the car to use Volkswagen components when DKW announced their withdrawal from the Brazilian market. Puma went on to become Brazil's most well-known sportscar builder. From 1964 to 1966, Brazilian truck builder Brasinca built the 4200 GT, with an all-steel body and power from an inline six-cylinder Chevrolet engine. In 1966, Fábrica Nacional de Motores (FNM) released the FNM Onça, a two-door coupé designed and built by Malzoni and his company Lumimari and based on the mechanicals of the Alfa Romeo 2000 sedan. The car had a GRP body styled by designer Anísio Campos that resembled the 1964½–1966 Ford Mustang. Few were built. In 1968 the Adamo first appeared on a motorshow stand. Various models were built over the course of several years, with production tapering off

Features

=== Body and chassis === The production SP2 is based on the chassis of the Brazilian VW Type 3 Variant. This is a steel backbone chassis with attached floor pans. The SP2's bodywork is also steel. The overall shape is that of a long-nosed, two door hatchback coupé. It was the lowest car built in Brazil to that date. The SP has two trunks; a 140 L (4.9 cu ft) space under the front hood, and a 205 L (7.2 cu ft) compartment in the rear, accessible via a large hatch. The body includes a "collision belt" that consists of the front and rear bumpers and bands of collision-resistant material down each side capped with rubber. The original design of the SP2 included energy-absorbing bumpers mounted on spring-steel "claws", a feature that was not implemented on the production cars. The headlamps in the SP2 are quartz-halogen units. Powertrain. Powering the SP2 is a "BL" code four-cylinder Volkswagen air-cooled engine displacing 1.7 L. This version of VW's boxer four is called the "suitcase" or "pancake" engine, and has its cooling fan on the end of the crankshaft, reducing engine height. It makes 65 (DIN) hp and gives the SP2 a top speed of 161 km/h (100 mph). The SP2 takes 17.4 seconds to accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph). The transaxle is a fully synchronized four-speed manual with reverse. It has the same gear ratios as the Brazilian Type 3, but a higher final drive ratio (lower numerically) to compensate for its smaller 14 in (356 mm) diameter wheels. Running gear. The suspension fitted to the early Brazilian Type 3 chassis underpinning the SP2 differed in some significant ways from its German counterpart, and has been said to more closely resemble that of VW's EA97 series of concept cars. The SP2's front suspension comprises upper and lower trailing arms and stabilizer bar, bu

SP1

Alongside the SP2, a less powerful, more sparsely equipped version was offered, named the SP1. Fitted with a 1.6 L "BV" code boxer engine producing 40 kW (54 hp), it has a top speed of 149 km/h (93 mph). The SP1 was discontinued in July 1974 after only 88 units were built. The interior of the SP1 is more spartan than that of the SP2, with simpler seats, no leather option, and without the center console, reading lights, passenger handle, or oil temperature gauge and clock offered in the SP2. The SP1 also makes do with sealed beam headlamps rather than the quartz-halogen units on the SP2.

Technical data

== Legacy == It has been suggested that the SP2 influenced the design of the Philippine DMG-VW Toro. The SP2 is also generally believed to have been the conceptual predecessor of Volkswagen's EA425 project, which was eventually launched as the Porsche 924. A 1973 example repainted by Volkswagen do Brasil from Astral Blue metallic to Lotus White is part of the collection of the Volkswagen AutoMuseum Foundation in Wolfsburg, and may be seen in the AutoMuseum Volkswagen. The fortieth anniversary of the launch of the SP2 was held on December 10 and 11, 2011, in Barra Bonita. Its fiftieth anniversary was held on 26 June 2022 at the Haras Tuiuti race track in São Paulo.

Proposed successors

=== Volkswagen SP3 === Volkswagen do Brasil did two design studies of possible SP2 successors. One of VW's SP3 prototypes kept the same chassis and general mechanical layout of the SP2, but replaced the air-cooled engine with a rear-mounted Passat TS engine. This water-cooled 1.6 L in-line four-cylinder engine, with a compression ratio of 7.5:1 and dual carburetors, developed 85 SAE horsepower. Testing of this SP3 progressed to the point that Volkswagen planned to unveil it at the Motor Show in November 1976, but the plan was cancelled before it was shown. VW's other concept was for a car that followed the outward appearance of the SP2 closely, but was to be built on a front-wheel drive (FWD) Volkswagen unibody platform and use a water-cooled engine. Volkswagen designer Luiz Alberto Veiga designed a new car based on the Golf platform. It progressed to the stage where quarter scale models were produced, but did not go further due to disappointing sales of the similar Scirocco in Europe. Dacon SP3. The task of creating a successor to the SP2 was taken up by vehicle manufacturer Dacon S.A. in São Paulo. Dacon based its SP3 on the floor pan of the SP2, and borrowed VW's idea of using a water-cooled inline engine. Externally, the Dacon SP3 differed from the SP2 by having smooth sides without the red, wraparound side trim and black rubber protection, and by its 6J×13 rims from the VW Passat. The SP2's characteristic air intakes gave way to discrete slots on the rear side windows, and a wide black grille sat above the front bumper. The 1.8 L engine produced 100 SAE hp and remained in the rear; along with the car's air conditioning compressor, while a new radiator was mounted in the front. The interior featured leather-trimmed Porsche seats (Dacon was also a Porsche dealer unt

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name

Volkswagen SP2

Manufacturer

Volkswagen do Brasil

aka

Type 149, Volkswagen SP1

Production

July 1972 – December 1975, 10,205 produced

Assembly

Brazil: São Bernardo do Campo

Designer

José Vicente Novita Martins, Márcio Piancastelli

Class

Sports car

Body style

2-door hatchback coupé

Layout

Longitudinal RR

Related

Volkswagen Variant

Engine

1.6 L air-cooled H4 (SP1), 1.7 L air-cooled H4 (SP2), 1.8 L water-cooled I4 (SP3 prototype)

Transmission

4-speed manual with reverse

Wheelbase

2400 mm

Length

4212 mm

Width

1610 mm

Height

1158 mm

Kerb weight

NNN -

Predecessor

Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

sp

us

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1411491CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_SP2CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1350468724 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Volkswagen_SP2.jpgPublic domain · Photo: Volkswagen do Brasil · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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