1938 Volkswagen Beetle prototype. All images courtesy Volkswagen AG, unless otherwise noted.
For countless drivers who came of age between the late 1950s and the late 1980s, the iconic Volkswagen Type 1 “Beetle,” which marks its 75th birthday this May, served as a reliable and economical means of all-weather transportation. Those learning to master the art of rowing their own gears could hardly find a more forgiving vehicle to do so on, and somewhere along the way the Beetle and its big brother, the VW microbus, became the poster children for the peace-and-love Woodstock generation. Sadly, though, the roots of the Beetle’s early development are linked to one of the darkest times in the 20th century.
In the early 1930s, Adolf Hitler, then Chancellor of Germany, directed automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche to begin development on a “Volkswagen,” or “people’s car.” It was to be mechanically simple, but capable of providing transportation for two adults and three children at a speed of 100 KPH (62 MPH). Priced on par with motorcycles of the day (thanks to state-backed subsidies), the “people’s car” could be purchased by German citizens via a state-run savings plan, which delivered the car only after payment was made in full.
Prototypes were developed by Porsche as early as 1935, but serious testing really didn’t begin until 1936. German soldiers were tasked with driving prototypes, in shifts, until the cars failed and potential problem areas were addressed. In total, some 1.8 million miles were driven in testing, ensuring that the production version of the yet-to-be-named car was as stout as possible.
March 30, 1948: loading a Beetle for export to the United States.
In 1937, Stuttgart coachmaker Reutter was asked to build 30 prototypes for display at festivals throughout Germany, in order to spread the word about the upcoming “people’s car.” Hardtop, convertible and canvas sunroof variants were all built, and the festival displays were used to promote the stamp-based savings plan that would theoretically allow the average German family to afford an automobile.
On May 26, 1938, the cornerstone of the new “Volkswagen” factory near Fallersleben, Germany, was put in place. Addressing the gathered citizens and media, Hitler proclaimed the car the “Kraft durch Freude-Wagen,” or the “Strength Through Joy Auto,” and it was to be built in a city bearing its name (Stadt des KdF-Wagens, now called Wolfsburg). Plans were to put the KdF-Wagen, as it was then called, into full production by the end of 1939.
The Second World War delayed plans to launch the Kdf-Wagen, as factory output turned to producing military vehicles such as the Kubelwagen (later reintroduced to the U.S. public as the Volkswagen “Thing”) and the amphibious Schwimmwagen. Had the war not delayed KdF-Wagen production, it’s quite likely that lawsuits filed by Czechoslovakian automaker Tatra may have accomplished the same thing.
An early sunroof-equipped Type 1 awaits export to the United States.
Ferdinand Porsche was said to be influenced by the designs of Hans Ledwinka at Tatra. His Tatra V570 prototype, which dates to 1931, featured a very similar shape to the Volkswagen, as well as a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine for simplicity. Porsche and Ledwinka were known to share design ideas, but in 1938 Tatra filed suit against Volkswagen for patent infringement. The Second World War preempted the case from going to court, but it was refiled following the end of the war, and in 1961 Volkswagen paid Tatra a settlement of some 3 million Deutsche Marks.
Following the conclusion of the war, the Volkswagen factory was presented to the British. Initial plans were to ship production of Volkswagen vehicles to England, but no English automaker saw the Type 1 as a viable automobile. Instead, the factory was restarted and used to produce these cars for the occupying British Army. Thanks largely to the efforts of Major Ivan Hirst of the British Army, the factory was soon producing as much output as the limited supply of materials allowed.
In 1947, former Opel manager Heinz Nordhoff was appointed as Volkswagen’s general director, and the automaker’s range of models was expanded to include two convertible variants, in addition to the existing Wolfsburg-built hardtop models. A two-seat convertible, called the Hebmüller cabriolet (Type 14A), was introduced alongside the four-seat Karmann cabriolet (Type 15A). The four-seat variant proved more popular, and a 1949 fire at the Hebmüller factory took a heavy financial toll on the struggling coachbuilder, which closed its doors in 1952.
Cutaway of 1954 Volkswagen Beetle. Image courtesy of OldCarBrochures.com.
Popularity of the Volkswagen Type 1 was growing in Europe, as it represented a faster and more fuel-efficient alternative to other post-war people carriers like the Citroën 2CV. Though it was first imported to the United States in 1949, buyers on these shores were slow to warm to the diminutive and oddly-shaped German import, and total U.S. sales through 1954 only numbered some 6,000 units. By 1959 this total had swelled to 150,000, and Volkswagen was well on its way to establishing itself as a legitimate automaker in the eyes of U.S. buyers.
1954 Volkswagen Beetle chassis. Image courtesy of OldCarBrochures.com.
Sales grew throughout the 1960s, spurred in part by continuous product improvements. In 1964, Volkswagen increased the size of the greenhouse, giving buyers a better view of their surroundings and gracing the car with a less “squat” look. In 1966, displacement was raised in U.S. models from 1.2 liters to 1.3 liters; in 1967, the flat-four engine grew again, this time to 1.5 liters (though 1.2- and 1.3-liter versions were still available in various markets). Power output was now rated at 52 horsepower, and the Beetle (as it was, by now, affectionately known) received a higher-output generator and a 12-volt electrical system (compared to the six-volt system used on earlier models). In 1972, the 15 millionth Type 1 Beetle was assembled, and the car surpassed the Ford Model T as the highest-volume single model ever produced by an automaker.
In 1971, the Super Beetle was added to the Volkswagen lineup. Sold alongside the standard Beetle, the Super Beetle featured a MacPherson strut front suspension, as compared to the torsion beam front suspension used on other models. This doubled front trunk luggage capacity and also gave the car a tighter turning radius than earlier models; the following year, Super Beetles added a larger rear window, more engine venting, bigger front brakes, taillamps with embedded reverse lights and an energy-absorbing steering column. The content level of Super Beetles continued to grow over the model’s lifespan, which lasted until 1976 for the hardtop and 1979 for the convertible.
While the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo raised fuel prices and likely helped the Beetle’s sales, competition from domestic cars such as the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega and AMC Gremlin was beginning to take a toll on VW’s business. Japanese automakers weren’t idle, either, and even cars like the Toyota Corolla and the Datsun 510 (and later, the B210) were attracting American buyers with their more conventional water-cooled, front-engine, rear-drive layout. After recording record sales in 1973, VW’s numbers began to fall in 1974. It introduced the more conventional VW Rabbit as an alternative to the Beetle in that same year.
Type 1 cabriolet in the Alps, circa 1956.
Though it now had a more conventional front-wheel drive, water-cooled economy car option, Volkswagen continued to produce the Beetle for U.S. consumers until the 1980 model year, when the last VW Beetle Cabriolet was sold (hardtop Beetle sales ended here in 1977). Production in other markets, however, continued, and the final Type 1 Beetle built rolled off of VW’s Puebla, Mexico, assembly line in July of 2003. By that time, Volkswagen had assembled some 22 million Beetles worldwide.
In the years since, Volkswagen has offered more conventional takes on the Beetle, producing the “New Beetle” from 1997 until mid-2010, and the current “Beetle” from 2011. Both are heavily based on the VW Golf, and both utilize a conventional front-engine, front-drive layout, playing primarily on nostalgia to generate sales.
1973 Super Beetle Cabriolet.
No overview of the VW Beetle would be complete without referencing the car’s significance to the kit car industry. Over the years, VW Beetles have served as the basis of everything from the Meyers Manx dune buggy to replicas of the Porsche 550 Spyder and even wholly original cars like the fiberglass-bodied Bradley GT. When fitted with long-travel suspension, oversize off-road tires and a more powerful flat-four engine, “Baja Bugs” are still run in events like the Baja 1000 (though the popularity of Baja Bugs as street cars has waned over the past few decades).
While most enthusiasts won’t see the original Type 1 as an aspirational or collectible car, it is a significant piece of both automotive and pop culture history. Few automobiles have enjoyed the Type 1′s 60-plus years of production history, and cars that have (like the Chevrolet Corvette) have seen far more changes in design, technology and construction over the years. As long as parts for air-cooled Beetles remain available, chances are better than average that a few original examples will be on hand to celebrate the car’s 100th birthday as well.