Auto Car | 1937 VW 30, The First VW KdF | The next series of 30 cars built during 1937 were called the VW 30. Between 1935 and 1937, a total of 50 prototypes were built. The decision was made to go ahead with the flat four air-cooled engine designed by Franz Reimspeiss. This engine remained more or less the same for many decades to follow. The prototypes were submitted to a rough test programme in order to expose weaknesses. For example, they had to withstand days of running at full throttle on the newly built autobahns. The tests were so severe and long that elite members of the German army had to be recruited as test drivers. In fact, the testing lasted for approximately 1600 million kilometres.
The final design was decided on with the aid of the chancellor himself, and looked very similar to the classic Beetle we know today. A purpose built facility was built in a new town, KDF Stadt. It was opened in May 26 1938, with the production of the vehicle to be started in September 1939, but in March 1939, World War II broke out. The war resulted in the factory being used by the German air traffic ministry, who used the building to produce stoves, V1 bombs and ammunition, and to repair aircraft.
After the war, the factory ended up in British hands, and Major Ivan Hirst was made manager. He wanted to re-start the production of the VW cars, as cheap cars were required for the German public. In 1946, the company was ordered to produce 1000 cars, and the company became known as "Volkswagen". The town was known as "Wolfsburg". The first export of the VW took place in 1947, when a Dutch car dealer named Ben Pon bought five cars. In 1948, Heinrich Nordhoff was made the senior executive. He had previously been in charge of Opel. The production kept growing, and in 1955, Volkswagen was producing 1000 cars a day. In 1972, the Beetle overtook the Ford Model-T record, becoming the most produced model of all time - with over 15 million units having been produced.
The prototypes were submitted to a rough test program in order to expose weaknesses. For example they had to withstand days of full throttle runs on the
newly built German autobahns. Due to the extensive tests SS soldiers had to be recruited as test drivers since the test program lasted for about 1600 million km.
The final design was decided and updates were made (Hitler himself is supposed to have been involved during this process).
The final 44 prototypes were built in 1938 and another 50 in 1939 for demonstration and advertising purposes.
The beetle now looked like we know it. Since the facilities to produce the car didn't exist, Hitler decided to build a whole new town called KDF
stadt just for this purpose. It was founded in May 26 1938 and the production was supposed to start in September 1939, but in Marsh 1939 World War II broke out.
After the war the town was renamed Wolfsburg from Werner von Schulenberg of Wolfsburg who was forced to give up his land for this project.
The way you were supposed to become an owner of a KDF wagen was unique. The idea was to save for it by buying a 5 RM stamp each month and when
you had enough of stamps (200) the car would be delivered. But when the war broke out all plans of production were halted and a total of 337.000 people
who had been saving for a car got cheated. They wasn't compensated until 1961 after a lawsuit in a German court. A settlement was reach where they either got a check of 100
DM or a 600 DM discount when buying a new bug.
Source : www.privatefleet.com.au
The final design was decided on with the aid of the chancellor himself, and looked very similar to the classic Beetle we know today. A purpose built facility was built in a new town, KDF Stadt. It was opened in May 26 1938, with the production of the vehicle to be started in September 1939, but in March 1939, World War II broke out. The war resulted in the factory being used by the German air traffic ministry, who used the building to produce stoves, V1 bombs and ammunition, and to repair aircraft.
After the war, the factory ended up in British hands, and Major Ivan Hirst was made manager. He wanted to re-start the production of the VW cars, as cheap cars were required for the German public. In 1946, the company was ordered to produce 1000 cars, and the company became known as "Volkswagen". The town was known as "Wolfsburg". The first export of the VW took place in 1947, when a Dutch car dealer named Ben Pon bought five cars. In 1948, Heinrich Nordhoff was made the senior executive. He had previously been in charge of Opel. The production kept growing, and in 1955, Volkswagen was producing 1000 cars a day. In 1972, the Beetle overtook the Ford Model-T record, becoming the most produced model of all time - with over 15 million units having been produced.
The prototypes were submitted to a rough test program in order to expose weaknesses. For example they had to withstand days of full throttle runs on the
newly built German autobahns. Due to the extensive tests SS soldiers had to be recruited as test drivers since the test program lasted for about 1600 million km.
The final design was decided and updates were made (Hitler himself is supposed to have been involved during this process).
The final 44 prototypes were built in 1938 and another 50 in 1939 for demonstration and advertising purposes.
The beetle now looked like we know it. Since the facilities to produce the car didn't exist, Hitler decided to build a whole new town called KDF
stadt just for this purpose. It was founded in May 26 1938 and the production was supposed to start in September 1939, but in Marsh 1939 World War II broke out.
After the war the town was renamed Wolfsburg from Werner von Schulenberg of Wolfsburg who was forced to give up his land for this project.
The way you were supposed to become an owner of a KDF wagen was unique. The idea was to save for it by buying a 5 RM stamp each month and when
you had enough of stamps (200) the car would be delivered. But when the war broke out all plans of production were halted and a total of 337.000 people
who had been saving for a car got cheated. They wasn't compensated until 1961 after a lawsuit in a German court. A settlement was reach where they either got a check of 100
DM or a 600 DM discount when buying a new bug.
Source : www.privatefleet.com.au
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