They were hand made and things varied as much as the names used to describe them from my experience when buying our S2.
The S2 is in the garage so if you want some measurements just ask.
One person was adamant he was selling me an S2 because it had "beetle lamps, a pram roof and 5 stud wheels" yet it also had the 286hp non-VANOS V8 and a 5 speed box?
Some S1 had two wipers and some three, some S1 had conventional stud wheels not knock-off's etc I have also been told different stories about the dashboard on S1-2 etc so it varies. The S1 started with the gangster roof but migrated to the higher conventional pram frame prior to the S2 coming in as well. The S2 was also named Aero America as it was reconfigured to allow it to meet US regs (fuel tank moved to ahead of rear axle) but retained the Clarence effect. I was never aware of the hardtop option on the S2 but had seen the GTN's with it.
I thought that the GTN was the last of the S1 series and so had S1 narrow cockpit shape. For me the width of the rear wheel arch at it's base and also the narrow gap between the edge of the steering wheel and door outlined the S1 thin body. All the S1's I sat in had a very narrow gap (with the default wheel) between the wheel and door and I was not convinced this was suitable for a light car with good torque on a wet road when my right foot was involved. You could not wind on opposite lock quick enough with that gap even using the advanced driving shuffle. Getting out over the broader running board was also something I did not relish given the even tighter cockpit. As a result of this I spent a long time looking for an S2 many years ago. So I found a lot of variations of S1 being wrongly described (usually late S1 with solid dash, three wipers, normal alloys) as they had the 5 speed and 4.4 286hp engine.
On both cars they appear to have the low tail
The comment re an S3 with beetle lamps I don't understand. The main difference between the S2 and S3 was the lamps/single part wing. They took the chance to make the front wing in a single part which made servicing a bit easier. The running gear was identical - engine, box, brakes, dash etc ? I thought it became an S3 simply because of the nose job? So it is either an S2 (beetle) or an S3 (mini). Same running gear?
I am certain a few cars have been mis-represented at sale (possibly not maliciously but due to lack of knowledge) and the individual nature of the Aero's over time makes this a bit of an issue anyway.
Main features ? (probably forgot a few)
S1
Narrow body
4.4L with 286hp V8
5 Speed Getrag
2-3 wipers
Narrow dash with bag
Narrow cabin/wide sill
Front wing made of 2 parts (wing + sill)
Knock off wheels (mostly)
Low non-aero boot lid tail
GTN
Narrow body
4.6L Alpina 330hp
Not certain of cogbox
3 wiper
Narrow dash with leather bag ?
Front wing made of 2 parts (wing + sill)
I thought narrow body
Hard top included
Low non-aero boot lid tail
S2
Wider US body (car same width but the body line had been moved out making wider cabin, narrower running boards combo)
Revised petrol tank positioning
4.4L with 330bhp and single vanos
Front wing made of 2 parts (wing + sill)
6 Speed ZF Manual
Uprated front brakes
Full width dash
Wider cockpit
High boot lid tail, apparently for aero reasons.
Last edited by Alistair; 18/12/23 11:29 AM.
