Rear Engined

1970-73 Volkswagen 1600 Squareback

Posted by The Professor

Looking back through the archives, it seems I hadn’t yet posted a 1600 Squareback. Which is surprising, really, since this is one of no fewer than 8(!) that I’ve shot over the years.

Squarebacks are sort of on that weird frontier of being too common to stop and take a picture of and too old to not stop and take the picture. I also think that outside of California (and maybe the PNW) they’re not nearly as common: I imagine rust has claimed quite a few of them by now. Still, in Los Angeles at least, there are still quite a few rear-engined Volkswagen fans for whom a Beetle will simply not do. Or maybe they just want something a bit more practical.

(Side note: if anybody knows how to narrow these down by year for the ’70-’73 models, please let me know: I have absolutely no clue of any distinguishing features between the years.)

Santa Monica, CA

Photographed August 2017

1967 Fiat 600

Posted by The Professor

1963 Fiat 600 1963 Fiat 600 1963 Fiat 600 1963 Fiat 600

When I first spotted this car on the streets of Paris, I thought the 600 was just like a slightly enlarged 500. In fact, the 600 was released 2 years prior to the introduction of the far more famous 500, so I suppose the Fiat 500 is a shrunken 600.

The Spanish car company SEAT built this car under license for 17 years (1957-1973) as the SEAT 600, which helped provide cheap transportation for Spanish families; it is an iconic car in Spain, more so than in Italy, where the Fiat 500 is the iconic one. 2,695,197 Fiat 600s were produced along with 737,319 SEAT 600s.

Paris, France

Photographed July 2013

1964-65 Porsche 356 SC

Posted by The Professor

1964 Porsche 356 SC 1964 Porsche 356 SC 1964 Porsche 356 SC 1964 Porsche 356 SC1964 Porsche 356 SC

1964 was the most popular year for the 356 as well as being its second-to-last year of production. 14,151 ’64 models were sold out of a total 76,000 from 1948-1965. 1964 was also the first year of the most iconic Porsche ever: the 911.

This SC model is the most powerful Porsche 356 model ever built, with 95 horsepower and four-wheel disc brakes.

Mar Vista, Los Angeles, CA

Photographed May 2013