Volkswagen Passat (B1)

Volkswagen Passat (B1)
Volkswagen Passat (B1)
Overview
Also called	Volkswagen Dasher
Production	1973–1981 (1974–1988 in Brazil)
Assembly	Emden, Germany São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil Clayton, Victoria, Australia (1974–1977)
Designer	Giorgetto Giugiaro
Body and chassis
Class	Mid-size car / Large family car (D)
Body style	2-door saloon/sedan 3-door hatchback 4-door saloon/sedan 5-door hatchback 5-door estate/wagon
Layout	Front engine, front-wheel drive
Platform	Volkswagen Group B1
Related	Audi 80/Fox
Powertrain
Engine	1.3 L I4 1.5 L I4 1.6 L I4 1.5 L I4 diesel engine
Transmission	4/5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,470 mm (97 in)
Length	4,190 mm (165 in)
Width	1,600 mm (63 in)
Height	1,360 mm (54 in)
Chronology
Successor	Volkswagen Passat (B2)

The Volkswagen Passat (B1) is an automobile produced by Volkswagen in Germany from 1973 to 1981.

The original Volkswagen Passat was launched in 1973. The body types offered originally were two- and four-door fastback sedans and identically profiled three- and five-door versions. Externally all four shared a modern design, styled by the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. In essence, the first Passat was a fastback version of the mechanically identical Audi 80 sedan, introduced a year earlier. A five-door station wagon/estate was introduced in 1974. In Europe, the Passat was equipped with either two rectangular, two round 7-inch (180 mm) units, or quadruple round 5.5-inch (140 mm) headlights depending on specification. The Passat was one of the most modern European family cars at the time, and was intended as a replacement for the aging Volkswagen Type 3 and Type 4. The Passat was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1974 and its sister model Audi 80 was nominated car of the year by the European motor press a year earlier. The platform was named B1.

The Passat originally used the four-cylinder OHC 1.3 l (55 PS or 40 kW or 54 hp) and 1.5 l (with either 75 or 85 PS, 55 or 63 kW or 74 or 84 hp) petrol engines also used in the Audi 80—longitudinally mounted with front-wheel drive, in Audi tradition, with either a four-speed manual transmission or three-speed automatic. It had a MacPherson strut front suspension with a solid axle/coil spring setup at the rear.