The Swiss firm of Beutler was founded in 1946 and
specialised in hand-built stylish coupes based on both Volkswagen and
Porsche parts, becoming an influential coach-builder in the 1950's,
though with somewhat small scale production.
Beutler and Porsche
Alongside
the firm of Reutter, Beutler enjoyed a close, if limited relationship
with the emerging Porsche company. The first collaboration was right at
the inception of the Porsche 356, when Porsche was still based in Gmund,
Austria. Beutler was commissioned to built the prototype 356 cabriolet
ready for the 1949 Geneva Motorshow, while the Stuttgart firm of Reutter
was charged with construction of the Porsche 356 coupes.
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| Beutler at the wheel of the first Porsche cabriolet |
Indeed,
the first Beutler-Porsche cabriolet was the second Porsche car ever
constructed, the photo above shows Ernst Beutler at the wheel of the
initial cabriolet. Not untypical of coach built models of the time, this
second Porsche featured a two piece windscreen, at the time single
piece screens were difficult to manufacture and hence more expensive.
All
in all, six of the Beutler Porsches were ordered there and then at the
Geneva Motorshow and like the Porsche coupe they carried a lot of
Wolfsburg parts including the 25hp Beetle engine, given twin carbs and
reworked to give 40hp.
After completion of the
initial order of six, Porsche moved to rented space at the Reutter works
in Stuttgart, and its relationship with its coach-builders changed.
Either because Beutler could not handle the orders Porsche was
projecting for the 356 cabriolet, or for some other reason, Reutter was
given sole charge of the Porsche coach building contract.
Beutler Utility Beetles
This,
however allowed Beutler to go it alone. From 1950 Beutler turned to the
VW Beetle as the basis for its automotive work. The first Beetles had
been imported in Switzerland in 1948 and proved very popular. Beutler
had already displayed a Beetle with a tiltable sunroof, common today but
a somewhat innovative feature at the time.
In
the early 1950's Beutler produced a number of "Utes" Beetles, utility
models. The first of these sold in numbers and was a basic Beetle
pick-up. Essentially just a Beetle with back section chopped off behind
the door pillars. Behind was a flat pickup bed that didn't really offer
an awful lot of capacity
The original pickup as used by the Beutler firm is still in existence and has been fully restored..
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| Beutler pickup now restored copyright by VW-Veteranenclub Mnster e.V. http://home.t-online.de/home/vw-veteranenclub.muenster |
As
well as these, the firm also offered two station wagon conversions that
were a little more considered. Two conversions were offered, a glass
sided station wagon and an alternative with roll down sides, much like a
bureau. The rear of the beetle was coach worked to give a full length
"estate" body. It may be noted that one other firm, the Belgium concern
of Meeussen also offered a Beetle van. The Station wagon conversion
retained the back seats that could be folded down , a wooden floor was
then placed over the engine bay and seats so that the load area was at
waist height. This gave a somewhat limited load area for both models
The
downfall of these types of utility Beetle conversions was, of course,
the appearance of Volkswagen's own type 2, which offered the same
reliable mechanics but with considerably more capacity and practicality
for little more money.
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