Work on a successor to the Volkswagen Beetle had already begun in Wolfsburg in the late 1960s. Several concept vehicles were created, including the EA (development order) 276. The EA 276 from 1969 already exhibited many features of the later successful Golf model such as front engine, hatchback with large boot lid and torsion beam axle.
But under the bonnet was still the well-known Beetle boxer engine with air cooling, and the focus was on reliability and low development costs. However, the days of this technology were coming to an end. The design of the EA 276 was pioneering, but another concept vehicle was developed further for series production.
The new model was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (Italdesign).
