X is for (e)xperimental

And so we come to ‘X’. This was never going to be an easy one, especially after a comprehensive trawl through my DVD collection of X-Men movies revealed that neither Halle Berry nor Hugh Jackman had that much to do with classic Volkswagens after they graduated from Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Fortunately, VW’s various experiments over the years was a lifeline. And, yes, before you all write in, even with my occasionally perilous grip on the English language, this German knows that ‘Experimental’ doesn’t actually begin with an ‘X’. However, prototype and experimental models are often referred to as ‘X-cars’ - and so this is a look at some of VW’s more intriguing air-cooled X-cars. Some led onto bigger and better things, others didn’t really work out at all.

Of course, once upon a time, Beetles themselves were X-cars. Or rather V-cars, as the first prototypes Ferdinand Porsche and his engineering team got to play with received a ‘V’ prefix (for ‘Versuchswagen’ or ‘test car’) followed by a number. By October 1935, the first two examples were up-and-running