If the Volkswagen Type 1 is anything, it’s an enigma. The story of its gestation is one of fascinating improbability. If you think it all started with Adolf Hitler, you’d be wrong. Ferdinand Porsche, a brilliant engineer of humble origins, had a vision. Although responsible for the design of many magnificent cars for Austro-Daimler and Canstatt-Daimler, not to mention various highly successful racing cars, he wanted to build a car for the masses. Having set up an independent design consultancy in his own name, he designed just such a car, not as a miniaturised version of a full-sized car as with the Austin 7, but as a completely fresh approach. It was to be the first truly modern car.
The motorcycle manufacturer Zundapp liked Porsche’s concept and commissioned him to build three prototypes. Zundapp insisted on a watercooled five-cylinder radial engine, against Porsche’s wishes, and the project was only moderately successful before Zundapp pulled the plug, deciding that with increasing sales, their motorcycle business was enough. Porsche retained a prototype, which had enabled the partial development of his torsion bar suspension system and other basic elements that would become the Beetle we all know so well.
Following the disappointment of the Zundapp-Volksauto, Porsche received a proposal from another German motorcycle manufacturer, NSU. As a result, three more prototypes
