VW Beetle

The history of the Beetle as we know it is well known and began in the dark days of the Third Reich with an „Exposé concerning the construction of a German Volkswagen“, written by designer Ferdinand Porsche. He had already developed a rear-engined vehicle for the Zündapp company in 1931 and then continued to refine his concept for NSU. None of his projects reached the public road, but his plans met with so much interest that the Reich Association of the Automotive Industry signed a contract with Porsche on June 22, 1934. The aim was to develop a Volkswagen - in the truest sense of the word.

In 1935, the first prototype was ready to drive and towards the end of 1936, three test specimens set off on extensive test drives. The vehicles differed significantly from today's popular classic cars, but the round shape and simple design were already there. In February 1937, Adolf Hitler inspected one of the early examples and was impressed. The name he had in mind for it: „KdF-Wagen“. The abbreviations stood for „Strength through Joy“ and this was a motto of the so-called Labor Front, a union of all employee and employer associations enforced by the National Socialists.

In order to provide the people with the «KdF-Wagen» as quickly as possible, the foundation stone for an automobile factory near Fallersleben was laid on May 26, 1938. On this occasion, Ferdinand Porsche showed what could be created from the original Volkswagen model. In addition to the closed saloon, a model with a roll-top roof and a convertible were presented.

The Second World War turned the minds of the people and the car manufacturers in a different direction. Although there was talk of building up to 500,000 Volkswagens a year, only a few hundred civilian vehicles left the new plant during the war years. Instead, the technology was used for military vehicles. Around 60,000 Kübelwagen and Schwimmwagen with Volkswagen engines were used on the front lines.

At the end of the war in 1945, a large part of the factory lay in ruins after bombing raids. A good 17,000 people already lived in the vicinity of the factory and the place became a town called Wolfsburg. Work was resumed at the factory and as early as 1947, some Beetles were exported to the Netherlands. In 1949, the first Beetles reached the USA - the country that gave the German car the name that is so familiar today. ’The Americans called it the Beetle. The name is said to have been used for the first time in 1938 by the New York Times newspaper.

From then on, things went uphill. The car was constantly improved and the heating system was replaced as early as 1951, although this did not have too great an impact. In 1953, the pretzel window with the metal center bar was replaced by a larger rear window and from 1955 there were two exhaust pipes. The initially tiny rear lights gave way to ever larger versions, right up to the maxi versions in the Beetle 1303 from 1972 - known as „elephant feet“. The indicators went on a journey with the model years: Initially, indicators appeared in the B-pillar, later the indicators were located on the fenders and from 1974 they were found in the bumper.

The power output increased from 25 hp at the beginning to 50 hp in the course of history. On February 17, 1972, the Beetle with the serial number 15 007 034 was built, replacing the production record of the Ford T-model. However, this record did not last long and was soon overtaken by the new and very popular VW Golf.

The last Beetle built in Germany rolled off the production line in Emden in January 1978. From then on, there was only the Volkswagen from abroad, the Mexico Beetle, which was also exported directly to Europe until 1985. The only exception was the Cabriolet introduced in 1949, which was built by Karmann in Osnabrück until January 1980.

Good to know: A detailed concept of the Beetle was designed by Béla Barényi as early as 1925, which was disputed by the Porsche company for a long time. The company credited company founder Ferdinand Porsche as the designer. It was not until a court ruling in 1953 that Barényi was able to assert his authorship.