Not everyone knows that the real name of this famous Volkswagen is Typ 1 and that the nickname “Beetle” (also translated into different languages according to the reference market) is an invention of the critics aimed at recalling the very rounded shapes of the body. Produced from 1938 to 2003, the Typ 1 is one of the most successful cars in history, with a total of 21 million units sold, and is now considered a piece of history not only of motoring but of the twentieth century in general. The intention to produce a reliable and affordable Getman car becomes public in 1934 by a speech of the dictator Adolf Hitler, who thus wanted to affirm the technological supremacy of his country. The first sketches of the KdF-Wagen (this is the name of the prototype which means “car of the Force through Joy”) are the work of Ferdinand Porsche, who imagines a city vehicle as concrete as affordable. However, full-scale production of the Beetle lasted only a few years: at the outbreak of the Second World War, the Volkswagen plant focused mainly on the production of war vehicles. In 1945, production resumed at the initial rate of 1000 units per month, which increased year by year for a long period of time: already from the 1950s the sale of the Typ 1 expands to many other countries, while starting from the 1960s is subject to constant technical improvements, up to a real facelift in 1967 and the cabriolet version’s introduction in 1970. From here on a slow decline begins, since the model is now anachronistic in the 70s and Volkswagen, which up to that point has produced only that model, falls into a serious financial crisis, before radically changing its strategy by expanding its range. The successor of the Typ 1 arrives in 2011 with the name of New Beetle, but it is quite frankly a minority project aimed at nostalgics with mechanics entirely derived from the Golf MK6.
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🏎️ Volkswagen Typ 1 “Beetle”
📍 Germany
💶 No longer on sale
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Our vote: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
