What the Beutler saw
Beutler was one of the more intriguing coachbuilders with a nifty sideline in air-cooled Volkswagens. Well, we say VWs, but air-cooled German cars might be a more accurate statement, since this Swiss company also produced some lovely Porsche-based machines as well. The deft touch it exhibited in transforming Porsches also manifested itself in the firm’s VWs, resulting in some stunning-looking creations. But such was Beutler’s flexibility that it also produced some very utilitarian designs as well, including Beetle-based estates, vans and pick-up trucks. However, even these demonstrated a certain flair that marked them out from similar efforts by other coachbuilders.
Safe haven
The company was founded by two brothers, Ernst and Fritz Beutler, who had learnt their trade at the wonderfully-named Worblaufen, Tuscher and Graber in Switzerland before WW2. Unusually, they decided to strike out on their own and found their own company in Thun, Switzerland, during the war. While the rest of
