One of the very last Corgi Toys in 1:43 scale (or thereabouts) was the VW Motor School car. No suspension, but a delight to drive.
This has the annoyingly ugly steering device protruding from the roof. Whereas its predecessors, the East African Safari and European Police cars, did at least disguise the steering feature as something one might reasonably have expected to see on the roof of a Volkswagen, the designers in 1974 had no shame.
They did however, choose the most gorgeous paint for the car and it emerged in this glistening metallic blue. Had they had this available in the earlier days then I am sure there would have been many more sales across the range of whatever it was applied to.
Although designated as a Volkswagen 1300 on the box, the base on some models shows 1200.
I have also been informed by a collector of an example which he says has yellow-tinted windows. I have asked for photos which I will add once I have been able to verify this variation. Corgi did use yellow-tinted windows occasionally, probably more as a result of supplier material change than policy, so it is feasible.
The wheels are the familiar 8-spoke cast type which were used on many models in the late 1960s and 70s but with a bright gold or silver finish. The steering device may also be either silver or gold and neither this nor the individual wheels necessarily match! The bumpers front and back, though are always bright silver, being clever extensions of the base (think Jaguar Mk X from over 20 years earlier).
Although numbered 400 when issued in April 1974, we are told by the Great Book of Corgi that this was replaced in July 1975 with a bigger box and numbered 401. I am not sure this correct. There was certainly another type of packaging and a 401 box as the illustration below shows. However, this has been one of only two illustrations of a 401 box that I have been able to find. Both containing German text model. Conversely, there are quite a lot of 400 boxes around.
At first I thought that 401 might have been the Export issue, which would explain why we don't see many in the UK. But then I find a French version . . in a 400 box.
So I have yet to resolve the mystery of the 401 issue. My guess is that 400 continued to be produced all the way through to 1977 when the model is finally withdrawn and that 401 will, indeed, be a scarce export edition, perhaps solely for the German market.
If you know more, do please let me know.
