P Is For Paint & Patina

Over the years, VWs have pandered to many fashions. That’s resulted in some quite amazing colours, from the blacks and greys of early days to the kaleidoscopic spectrum of the 1970s. Of course, some people just prefer rust…

- Richard Gunn / Hans Klapp

Being Hans Klapp, my mind often tends to operate using Volkswagenterminology. The Curse of Klapp,I used to call it, until somebody pointed out that could be completely misconstrued as something else. So if somebody mentions, for example, L20B, L69N, L10A, L96E or L13A to me - and, trust me, such bizarre conversations happen far more often than you might expect - then I don’t have to check a book to know that they represent Bright Orange, Viper Green Metallic, Rally Yellow, Gemini Metallic and Dakota Beige paint shades. Dakota Beige is an eminently sensible hue of which I completely approve, of course, but the others were among some of the most flamboyant VW hues ever, dreamt up during the 1970s when good taste was taking a nap. Although I understand that some of you out there are really quite fond of them…

There have been hundreds of paint colours available for Buses, Beetles and their brethren. In fact, such was the longevity of the Type 1 that probably no other car has ever been available with such a huge and varied choice. That most of them, from subtle to retina-searing, have suited their canvas pretty well is a tribute to timeless VW design.

It all started out with black, of course and the first Beetles were only offered in this colour, and Wolfsburg’s own preserved VW38 from 1938 is finished this way. The economies of gearing up for war (and then fighting it) meant the Beetle’s palate was strictly limited, with black being complemented by just a few variations of grey and khaki.