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The Volkswagen SP2 was a sports car developed by Volkswagen do Brasil for that market, from 1972 to 1976. In the 70s, the Brazilian market was closed for imports. The only sports car officially made there was the aging (and by then retired) Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, and its failed successor, the Karmann Ghia TC. Only independent car makers were able to fill the gap, notably Puma, Santa Matilde and Miura.
The Volkswagen subsidiary in Brazil always had some degree of independence from Wolfsburg, so in 1969 they decided to start a new project of their own. A team led by Mr. Schiemann and supported by Rudolf Leiding (the CEO of the subsidiary and later of the entire company) started work on a so-called "Project X", and presented a prototype in a 1971 fair. But it would take another year before the car reached the streets.
The SP, the final name of the car, was built on the frame of a Variant, with the same Volkswagen air-cooled engine, but upgraded to 1700 cc, it developed 75 hp, 160 km/h and made 10 L/100 km. When the car was presented, it quickly drew media attention, with its many improvements over the local "air cooled" VW line, an impressive interior, its many extra features and its superb finishing.
Despite its revolutionary look, the car failed to beat the Puma in performance. Although they used similar engines, the fiberglass Puma was much lighter. This resulted in low sales, and the SP was discontinued in February 1976. An attempt to resolve SP's main problem, lack of engine power, was called "SP3 project". It would be basically an SP2, but with a 1.8L EA-827 (AP in Brazil) engine, water-cooled, 8,5:1, 100 hp SAE at 6000 rpm and twin carburetors, all "borrowed" from the Brazilian version of the Passat TS. Although nothing came of the factory project, a prototype was made by Dacon who also offered a (prohibitively expensive) conversion kit.
Porsche seats and instruments made up the interior, which received a black finish. The transmission, suspension and brakes were the same of the SP2, the prototype could get to 190 km/h.
