VOSA Fun Fact: VW began selling the Beetle to the German public this month in 1938.
The Origins of the Beetle
The three people are responsible for the creation and production of Volkswagen Beetle were Adolf Hitler, who conceived the idea of a car cheap enough for the German working man to afford, Ferdinand Porsche, who created the distinctive air-cooled rear engine design and, in the post war years, Heinz Nordhoff who picked up the task of the continued production and refinement of the Beetle. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951) developed the inexpensive rear-engine small car called the Type 32, or Kleinauto, for the NSU Company in Germany in 1932. It was based on an original small car prototype Porsche had developed, but never produced in 1931 for the Zündapp Works, a motorcycle firm.
Porsche had just opened his own automotive design firm in 1931 with his son, Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche II (b. 1909) , but already had a long and distinguished career of innovative design. Born in Austria, he was hired in 1898 as a designer by Ludwig Lohner, owner of a carriage factory in Vienna, who wanted to produce an electric car and was interested in Porsche's idea of placing the electric motors directly inside the wheel hub, thus eliminating chain and belt drives. The resulting car was the Porsche-Lohner Chaise, which won a grand prize at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1900, and made Porsche famous..|
Ferdinand Porsche shows
a model to Adolf Hitler of
the car which was to become the VW. Hitler stated, "It should
look like a beetle; |
In 1903, Porsche combined a gasoline engine with an electric motor in what he called a "Mixt" car for Lohner. The engine powered a generator which fed electricity to the motors in the wheels. Nicknamed "Aunt Eulalia", the car was a hit with celebrities like Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In 1906, Porsche became an engineer for Austro-Daimler as a technical director and board member, and joined Daimler in Germany in 1923 where he remained until he was dismissed, when Daimler merged with Benz Cie in 1926. In 1929 he took a key position with Steyr Works in Vienna, but the company soon collapsed financially. In 1935 two Prototypes were built in the double garage of Porsche's home at 48-50 Feuerbacherweg, Stuttgart because he had no workshop facilities at 24 Kronenstrasse where he had set up his consultancy business in December 1930 after a long and distinguished career in the motor industry. He worked there, with a team of collaborators as a consultant and constructor for other companies, such as the recently formed Auto Union (Horsch, Audi, Wanderer and DKW) and Mercedes-Benz. |
To give his business the all-round technical expertise
it needed, he made sure that certain key people were with him, people
he had worked with and grown to respect using his long years in the motor
industry. Under the new order, Porsche was to lay down the ideas and rough
concepts, while the rest of the team filled In the details and made it
work. His colleagues included Josef Kales, an air cooled engine specialist;
Karl Frohlich, a transmission expert; Karl Rabe, who had been his chief
engineer at Austro-Daimler; Josef Zahradnlk for axle and steering design,
and Josef Mickl, his aerodynamics adviser. Mickl at 45 was the oldest
member of the team and Ferry Porsche, Ferdinand's son, was the youngest
at 21. For a short time, there was also a business manager by the name
of Adolf Rosenburger but being Jewish, he was forced to flee the country
in 1933.
Three of Porsche's NSU small car prototypes that were built in 1933 were
refined, through a commission by Adolph Hitler, into three VW 3 prototypes
in 1936, which were successfully tested by the Nazi SS. Hitler's specifications
included a cost of RM990 (US $396), a speed of 100 kph (62 mph), and 42
mpg fuel consumption.
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In January 1937 the Manufacturers Association issued a report generally favoring the VW design, however it believed the car couldn't be manufactured for the projected cost of RM990 ($396), Hitler disagreed and in May 1937 the Volkswagen became a state-funded project and the responsibility of the German Labor Front, an organization which had taken the place of the abolished trade unions. In 1938, Adolph Hitler laid the foundation for the Volkswagenwerk factory in "KdF Stadt" (after the war renamed Wolfsburg), Germany, and mass production of the Volkswagon Type 38 KdF Wagen (Kraft durch Freude, or Strength through Joy), began. It was designed by Porsche and Erwin Komenda (1904-1966), based on the 1932 prototype Kleinauto. |
 One of the few surviving examples of the VW 38 series (chassis number 3803) owned by VW and used by Ferdinand Porsche until 1945. |
A rear window had not been included in the original design but this was incorporated by the Reutter coach building firm in the winter of 1937. A divided window was introduced and, with the output of the engine's cooling fan boosted, the number and size of louvres were reduced and located below the new window. At the front a one-piece boot cover, similar to the Type 32, was installed. Also, for the first time, small running boards were featured. Here at last, was the Volkswagen in its completed form. Another batch of 44 cars of this final design were ordered from Diamler-Benz and at the same time the engine capacity was increased by 1cc to 985cc.
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In August 1938, Labour Front chief Robert Ley announced the only method by which the public could acquire one of the new cars. The KdF could only be bought on a hire purchase system but the car would be sold when the final - rather than the first - payment was made. A savings book would be issued on receipt of RM 1 fee and this would be considered the equivalent of placing an order for the car. The basic version would cost RM 990 ($396) a version with a roll back sun roof would cost RM60 ($24) more. There was only one colour (much like Ford's Model T: "You can have any color so long as it is black) and that was blue-grey. In addition there would be a RM 200 ($80) fee to cover two year's third party and part comprehensive insurance. The idea was that there would be no agents or middlemen, and customers would have to travel to the factory to collect their cars. If this was not possible an additional RM 50 ($20) delivery fee was charged. By the end of 1938 the Labor Front had received 169,741 applications, a figure that was eventually to rise to 336,668 ordered units. Factory construction was halted in 1939 as war
began. Only 210 KdF Wagens were built, and only privileged Nazi
officials got them. After the war, Volkswagenwerks in Germany, largely
destroyed in 1944 by bombing, was offered for sale to, among others,
the Ford Motor Company. The offer was declined by Henry Ford II,
as "not worth a damn". |
 A photo of Ferdinand Porsche |
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The Volkswagens were introduced to the US on January 17, 1949 by Bel Pon of the Netherlands, the only international distributor of Volkswagenwerks. The initial reaction in America was one of indifference. In the post-war years, Americans wanted bigger, more luxurious automobiles. Consequently, in that first year, VW dealers sold just two of the cramped little vehicles. Volkswagen of America was established in 1955 and that year 330 were sold in the US market at a price of $1800, it soon became known as the Beetle. By 1968, it had captured over 50% of the US import market. In 1974, due to failure to meet US emissions standards, the Beetle was replaced by the Rabbit, but it continues to be manufactured in Latin America. Over 21 million have been sold to date, far exceeding the total sales of the Ford Model T. |
| At the 1994 Detroit Auto Show, the VW Concept One "retro-Beetle", designed by Jay Mays and Freeman Thomas of the VW /Audi Simi Valley, CA studio under Charles Ellwood, debuted. The new Beetle was introduced in 1998 at a price of $18,000, ten times its original US price in 1955. In 1999 a Turbo version of the Beetle was introduced that gave the car a boost of about 35 HP. At the Geneva Motor Show in 2000 VW introduced the New Beetle RSI which has also been referred to as the "New Super Beetle". Limited quantities of these special edition sport Beetles were produced in Europe. |
"Concept One" New Beetle |
The New Beetle RSI's fenders were widened 5.5 inches, and connected front and rear by bulging side skirts. A massive front apron complete with auxiliary headlights and a substantial rear valance with dual-exhaust outlets provide muscularity to the design. A large spoiler and huge 18-inch wheels and tires complete the look. Powered by a 3.2-liter V6 engine, the New Beetle RSI has a six-speed manual transmission and 4Motion all-wheel drive. The interior was also revised, with a large tachometer serving as the focal point of the gauge pack. A digital speedometer tracks speed, while additional gauges reside in the headliner. Carbon and aluminum are used extensively in the RSI's interior details.
 Photos of the New Beetle RSI at the Geneva Motor Show in 2000 |
January of 2002 brought us the introduction of the New Beetle Turbo S at the North American International Auto Show. The biggest differences with this model is the addition of a 180 HP 1.8 Turbo engine (up from the previous 150 HP rating), 6 speed manual tranmission and Volkswagen's proprietary ESP or Electronic Stability Program. As 2003 approaches The New Beetle Cabriolet is planned for sale in the U.S. and many await with great anticipation for the convertible version of this wonderful car. The legend continues...
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The 2002 6-Speed, 180hp New Beetle Turbo
S |
