Volkswagen Passat B1 1973 - 1981 - Model history

Volkswagen Passat B1

Volkswagen Passat B1

The first successful Volkswagen of the new era was succeeded by the ill-fated K70, arriving a year before the Golf, with the engine longitudinally oblique and front-wheel drive from the '1972 European Car'

The Volkswagen Passat B1, introduced 45 years ago, at the Geneva Motor Show is a faithful derivative of the 80 Audi 1972, which won the title of ‘European Car of 1972’.
The difference is in the concept of the body hatchback instead of sedan. Although, after the excellent start of the Audi 80, it was not easy to position itself on the market, the Passat is a school example of success. So the copy was better than the original. Most customers of the first model chose a functional five-door station wagon-sedan version. The Volkswagen Passat B1 lay very well in the curves and had a simple and inexpensive rigid axle with longitudinal rails at the rear.
Volkswagen Passat B1

With richer equipment, it had rectangular lights. It was produced as a ‘hatchback’ with five and three doors (pictured) and a station wagon, so there was no direct overlap with the Audi 80. It was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro

The rigid bridge augmented the trunk and was ideal for the station wagon, which will celebrate its VW version. Introduced at the end of July 1, the Volkswagen Passat B1973 was the first successful fruit of the Audi (Auto Union) acquisition of Daimler-Benz in 1964, with the goal of taking over front-wheel drive and water-cooled technologies. The first Volkswagen with front-wheel drive, K70 from 1970, it was just a NSU K70 with a VW badge, three-wing cabin aerodynamics and poor 1.6 / 1.8 water-cooled gasoline, derived from a good 1.0 / 1.2 from Air-cooled Princes.
It is not famous for its performance, and especially for its consumption of 12,5 to 13,5 liters, so Wolfsburg would rather erase it from its history. The Volkswagen Passat B1 was reportedly named, although officially denied, by the wind that blows from the subtropical areas towards the equator. In the time of sailing ships, they were important for sailing to America, and their name is from the Spanish 'pasar' - to pass. It had a ‘flying start’ as it was a hatchback version of the excellent Ingolstadt model, whose lightweight construction concept (Leichbau), solid aerodynamics (0,38) at the time and front-wheel drive were the foundations of success.

The interior, for today's Spartan terms, was relatively rich, transparent and functional at the time, had a power-assisted brake system, but not the steering wheel, the precision manual transmission had four gears

The powertrain, with the engine longitudinally above and in front of the transaxle but skewed to the right, to reduce the height of the hood, was originally from the 2 102-stroke DKW F1963, from which the 1966 Audi 60 was produced, with Mercedes -Benz's 4-stroke engine. The first batch had a classic trunk lid, and in 1975, a more usable five-door was introduced. The success was furious and a millionth copy was produced on December 22, 1976. In August 1977, a redesign arrived, with a more elegant mask and better anti-corrosion protection. In March 1978, the range was extended to a 1.5hp 50D diesel, introduced in late 1976 at Golf.
This, the first successful small diesel engine in general, derived from a 1471 cc petrol engine, from which all of Volkswagen's 4-cylinder diesels (1.6, 1.7, 1.9 and 2.0) were later created, was almost the subject of a scandal. It was rumored that the conversion into a diesel was made by Mercedes experts, in a 'fuss', and that it all ended in a settlement, without publicity. In October, the Passat GLI arrived with 1588 cc petrol and 110 hp, with mechanical injection Bosch K-Jetronic, which was built into the first Golf GTI two years ago. It was 418 meters long, 160 meters wide and 137 meters high, with a wheelbase of 247 centimeters, which were the proportions of the middle class at the time.

The weight of 880 kg was about a hundred kilograms lower than the average at the time. Because of that, and thanks to the good aerodynamics, the already basic Passat 1.3 with 60 hp provided, for that time, a solid temperament. He accelerated to 17 km / h in 148 km and reached 8,5 km / h. It consumed an average of 8,2 liters, and with a compression of 86, it could use cheaper normal gasoline. In SFRY, Regular had 75 octane, so Super had to be topped up. With 13,5 hp, it accelerated by 160 and reached 85 km / h, and with 12 hp - 168 and XNUMX km / h, this version was recognized by the dual headlights.
With 110 hp, it caught a hundred at 10,5 and reached 185 km / h. The diesel with only 50 hp also pulled surprisingly well. Twenty seconds to one hundred and 141 km / h in practice was not bad, and the consumption of 7,5 liters was exemplary at the time. From 75 hp, a three-speed automatic transmission could be added. The Volkswagen Passat B1 was heavy makeup at the time. It cost 8500 DM in Germany, and in our country as two Stojadins. The elimination of faults observed on the ‘cousin’ from Ingolstadt ensured the first-generation Passat (B1 series) the highest reliability in its class. The success is confirmed by the fact that the Volkswagen Passat B1 was produced in Germany until 1981, and in Brazil until 1988, and a total of 2,5 million units were produced.

The Caravan version of the Variant, with a boot volume of 450 to 1350 liters, significantly increased the functionality of the entire game, and this version was especially popular with the diesel engine, introduced in 1978.

It was successfully redesigned in 1978, when it received a diesel version. The second-generation B2 Passat (1981-1988) retained the Audi 80 concept, with the engine longitudinally forward. The great popularity of the Variant station wagon spilled over into the next series, which 'swept' the hitherto inviolable Opel Caravans.
The next B3 (1988-1993) and B4 (1993-1996), which was practically a redesigned predecessor, move to the Golf concept with a transversely mounted engine. Interestingly, the B5 series (1996-2001) and the B5.5 redesign (2001-2006) return to the Audi concept, now the A4 and A6 series, and the B6 series (2005-2010) and B7 (2010). . - 2015) again switch to the Golf concept with a transversely mounted engine. This is how the current Passat B8, conceived in 2015, was conceived.

Volkswagen Passat B1

Volkswagen Passat B1

Author: Zeljko Marusic
Retrieved from: autoportal.hr


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