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A little history of the Beetle:
The Volkswagan Beetle,
the ancestry of the Beelte can be traced back a long time, all the way
back to 1934 when in the Hall of Berlin Adolf Hitler announced that the
car had not to be an exclusive privilege of the rich. Hitler entrusted
Ferdinand Porsche, defined by him as "the most famous designer of
all time", the assignment to construct the Volkswagen (the people's
car); and he did not limit himself just to the definition of the name,
but dictated also terms about the peculiarities that it had to have. These
included the car having the ability to carry two adults and three children
at a speed of 60mph with at least 33 mpg.. now 33 mpg is good by today’s
standard of petrol engined cars.
By late 1935 the first prototypes were on the autobahns, the V1 saloon and a convertible V2, these cars had aluminium bodies mounted over traditional wooden frameworks. In 1936 steel bodies mounted over all-steel floorpans were used, powered by a 984cc, 22bhp engine that could reach a top speed of around 65 mph. Another 30 prototypes were then made by Daimler-Benz who were not keen to make such a cheap car as they thought it would damage their high-class reputation. The development program was then transferred to the Nazi German Labour Front who would use German workers contributions to pay for a new factory. The Daimler-Benz built cars were tested at an SS barracks near Stuttgart and driven in shifts by 200 soldiers, until any minor problems were corrected. During this time Dr. Porsche visited the US to view some of the production methods used there, and recruited some German immigrant engineers who had worked in these factories.
On the 26 May 1938, Hitler ceremoniously laid the cornerstone of the new factory, a huge event witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people and 150 reporters, all controlled by the Nazi propaganda machine. It was here that Hitler declared that the model would be known as the 'KdF-Wagen' or 'Strength through joy' wagen and the surrounding town that was built to support the factory would be known as the 'KdF-Stadt', production was to start in September 1939 - this turned out to be the same month that World War Two was declared, and none of the thousands who had collected their stamps ever received their beetle.
The Führer, with Heinrich Himmler seated behind, in a Kdf-Wagen (Beetle) in 1944, near the Wolfsschanze, East Prussia.
As the War gathered pace, the KdF-Wagen was put on hold and production changed to military vehicles. The 'Kubelwagen' used the tried and tested and very successful chassis and air-cooled engine developed for the peoples car. In 1942 the Kubelwagen was joined by the Schwimmwagen - a four wheel drive vehicle capable of driving on land and in water. By 1943 over 12,000 prisoners of war were working at the factory, which was by now mostly repairing aircraft.
The second world war eventually came to an end and Hitler committed suicide in 1945, the task was then to rebuild Germany. The Country was divided into quarters, and as the KdF factory was located in the British section it fell under control of the British, and Major Ivan Hirst was brought in to assess the possibility of starting up production of the Beetle as transport for the occupying forces. The KdF-stadt was renamed Wolfsburg - taking its name from a nearby castle and the KdF plant was known as the 'Wolfsburg Motor Works'.
n 1948, after the appointment of Heinz Nordhoff as the VW factory General Director, it was decided that the Volkswagen range needed to be expanded, and the go-ahead was given to two factories to produce prototype convertible versions of the Beetle. Karmann were asked to build a four seater, and Hebmüller were asked to make a two seater roadster. The design of the roadster was not unlike the 'Radclyffe Roadster', with similar hood and side windows, the rear engine cover however was a hand formed panel and not a converted front bonnet as was the Radclyffe version.
Kommandeurwagen (Type 87)
The Wolfsburg factory
continued to build saloons until it was eventually discontinued in 1978,
the biggest change being in 1971 with the introduction of the 'Super Beetle'.
These beetles came equipped with the IRS previously only available on
US models, and an all new McPherson strut front suspension to replace
Porsches preferred torsion bars. This new front suspension allowed a repositioning
of the fuel tank and spare tire thus giving an increased luggage capacity.
The 1302S super beetle had a slightly redesigned 1600cc engine that developed
50bhp. These changes were accompanied with a revised external body and
a new floorpan.
On the 17th February, 1972, the beetle finally overtook Fords model 'T'
as the most popular car ever made, later disputed by Ford who found new
production figures, the beetle went on to make sure there was absolutely
no doubt. The last beetle to be made in Germany left the production line
in January 1978, bringing the end of an era, but the Cabriolet production
continued for the U.S spec, cars only until 10th January 1980. This was
not the end of the beetle though, production continued in Puebla, Mexico
in a factory that was built in 1954. The 20,000,000th beetle rolled off
the Mexican production line in May 1981 and with demand in Europe for
the beetle still high, Volkswagen of Germany was importing beetles from
Mexico up to 1985.
Independent importers continued to supply several major countries, including
Germany, France, and the UK until the end of production in 2003. Devoted
fans of the car even discovered a way to circumvent US safety regulations
by placing new Mexican Beetles on the floor pans of earlier, US-registered
cars. The end of production in Mexico can be blamed primarily on the Mexican
government's decision to gradually outlaw the use of 2-door cars as taxi
cabs (the Beetle's core market in latter years.) In addition, Volkswagen,
now Germany's largest automaker, has been attempting to cultivate a more
upscale, premium brand image, and the simple Beetle, with its $7000 base
price, clashed with VW's new identity, seen in the Touareg and Phaeton
luxury vehicles.
By 2003 Beetle annual production had fallen to 30,000 from a peak of 1.3 million in 1971. On July 30, 2003, the final original VW Beetle (No. 21,529,464) was produced at Puebla, Puebla, Mexico, some 65 years since its public launch in Nazi Germany, and an unprecedented 58-year production run since 1945. VW announced this step in June, citing decreasing demand. The last car was immediately shipped off to the company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany. In true Mexican fashion, a mariachi band serenaded the last car.
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A VW enthusiast based in Hesdin (northern France) runs / owns BajaBeetle.co.uk,
contact A R Martin for details arm@bajabeelte.co.uk
Fancy a chat, give us a call +44 (0) 161 408 0917
