The Volkswagen Beetle (The People’s Car) was the biggest selling and most instantly recogniseable car of the 20th Century and its story is cemented forever in motoring folklore.

Designed by Porsche
It was conceived in the early 1930s by Adolf Hitler who wanted a simple, reliable car to enable ordinary Germans to see their country and drive along the country’s new autobahns, but wouldn’t cost much to purchase. He then asked car designer Ferdinand Porsche to develop the project and from the mid 1930s onwards, he produced a number of prototypes. Porsche’s idea was an air-cooled, rear-engined "egg shaped" car -unlike anything which had been built before .

Once the final designs had been approved, small-scale production began at a manufacturing facility in Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony in 1938, but with the outbreak of war a short time later, production soon halted. However, when the war was over, the British returned the Wolfsburg plant back to car production and by the end of the 1940s, they had put control of the company back into German hands.

Porsche's son, Ferry, had now largey taken over the running of the business and even though the early Volkswagens were regarded as slow and noisy, he saw the potential for the small car in markets well beyond Germany.

Success in America
His optimism proved correct and the major breakthrough came during the 1950s with the rapid increase of sales in America. There had also been a number of technical improvements, such as the introduction of a more powerful engine, an open top cabriolet version and a more attractive Karmann Ghia sports model which had a range of extras.

The name Beetle was initially only used by "Beetle owners" and the motoring press. VW’s executives simply marketed the car by the engine size of the different models available, such as 1200, 1300, 1500, etc., but eventually realised the sales benefits of using an endearing name which the rest of the world was more familiar with.

By the 1960s, the car had taken on international cult status. It had also created an industry of its own, with a whole range of variations having been produced from amphibious Beetles to drag racing Beetles to the Dune Buggies of America’s West coast. It had also became a Hollywood star by its increasingly prominent role in a string of mainstream movies.

Remarkably, the basic design of the car largely remained unchanged, decade after decade, a fact Volkswagen regularly referred to in many of their innovative advertising campaigns.

Production of the car finally ended in Germany in 1978, but continued in other parts of the world for many more years. The last car eventually came off the production line in Mexico in 2003 -65 years and more than 21 million units after the first cars had been built.

New Beetle, new era
But Volkswagen had been planning for the future for a long time previously and brought out the replacement car, the new Beetle, in the mid 1990s. This car had all the sophistication and technologies which the original lacked, but it did still retain the original’s shape and soul.

It too proved popular and it wasn’t long before the "love bug" was affecting a whole new generation of car owners.

The Volkswagen Beetle

Duration: 1 mins. 44 secs.

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During the mid 1930s, Ferdinand
Porsche produced a number of prototypes

Production of the car resumed after the war and the 1000th car was built in March 1946

Sales were helped by the Beetle's  appearance at international motor shows

The Wolfsburg production line, 1947

The 1950s saw a notable rise in sales, especially in America

Innovative advertising during the 1960s ensured sales continued to increase

An amphibious British Beetle "swims" across the Irish Sea in the 1970s

The Beetle's appearance in Hollywood films helped
to cement its place in popular culture around the world

A huge celebration of old and
new Beetles gathered in Berlin in 2005

The new Beetle has retained the shape of the original, but is technically much more advanced

The Beetle became the biggest selling car ever in 1972 and then passed the 20 million mark in 1981

The last ever original Beetle comes
off the production line in Mexico in 2003

Its simplicity and reliability meant it
proved popular in markets around the world

Beetles were often promoted for their
"fun" appeal -especially amongst the young 

Many owners personally painted their
cars. Flowers were a common theme

Film now showing
1958 Volkswagen Beetle TV commercial

Multimedia stories from history

Film provided courtesy of www.auto-history.tv

(c) Universal Motoring History Enterprises

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