VOLKSWAGEN (Germany) 1938 to date
Ferdinand Porsche designed the prototypes of his `Volkswagen' (people's
car) at the behest of the Nazi party in 1934-36, and a series of
30 pilot cars was constructed in 1937 by Daimler-Benz.
In 1938, Adolf Hitler laid the corner-stone of the Volkswagen factory
at Wolfsburg, but though the cars were known as the `KdF'-Wagen
("Kraft durch Freude": "Strength through Joy") and theoretically
available on subscription, no cars were released to the public before
the war. Various military VWs appeared, with a rear air-cooled flat-four
engine of 1 l3lcc, this power unit being used on the post-war models
which began to be produced by loyal employees in the bomb-flattened
ruins of the Wolfsburg factory.
Both an Allied investigation team and Henry Ford II dismissed the
VW (nicknamed "Käfer"- "Beetle") as having no commercial future,
but it went on to become the most successful car in motoring history,
outselling even the Model T Ford. At Wolfsburg alone, 11,916,519
Beetles were built between 1945 and 1974, with millions more being
built in other VW plants al1 over the world, especially in Brazil
(where the Beetle was still in production in 1979) and in Australia,
where an ambitious plan to build this model largely from locally
sourced components, including the engine, during the boom years
of the 1960s only lasted from 1960-68. Over the years, the Beetle
acquired more powerful engines, of 1192cc (1954), 1285cc (1965),
1493cc (1966) and 1584cc (1970).
The first break with tradition was the VW I500 of 1961: engines
of up to 1795cc were subsequently adopted on this model. Then VW
acquired NSU, and with it the new K70, with a front-mounted ohc
water-cooled vertical four of 1594cc or 1795cc; this was produced
as a VW from 1970 to 1974. In 1973, VW introduced the Passat, with
engines of 1297cc to 1471cc, followed a year later by the Scirocco
of 1093cc to 1457cc, and the Golf, with a 1093cc engine. In 1975
came the highly successful Polo minicar, with an 895cc engine; 1093cc
and 1272cc versions were subsequently offered, and a version with
a conventional boot instead of the hatchback was introduced under
the name Derby. The Golf was available with engines up to 1588cc
and was built (as the Rabbit) in Pennsylvania, with such success
that US-built VW sales actually outstripped American Motors in the
sales league in December 1978, only a few months after the factory
had gone into operation. The Golf is also offered with a 1471cc
ohc diesel engine.
At the 1979 Geneva Show, a Cabriolet version was launched. At the
beginning of 1979, VW announced a joint venture in which the Beetle
was to be built in Egypt.
1966 Volkswagen Coccinelle cabriolet
1971 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Cabriolet
1973 Volkswagen Beetle
1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle
1974 Volkswagen Coccinelle cabriolet
1979 Volkswagen Coccinelle cabriolet
©VEA
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