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VW Beetle

Designed by Ferrdinand Porsche in 1939 as Hitler's request for a 'peoples car'. Many a non VW owner has pondered why so many people can love a car that Henry Ford II rejected as being "too ugly to sell", yet this "ugly" car went on to become the single most popular vehicle in the world. Henry could never have foreseen the phenomenon that the humble Beetle was to unleash on the world.

In it's original form, the 1131cc Beetle managed a leisurely 90km/h.

The One million mark was reached in 1965. In 72 it reached to 15 Million mark, surpassing the 45 year old record set by the Model T.

Concept One- The New Beetle

Even after almost half a century the beetle's following is as strong as ever, and Volkswagen have even confirmed that Concept One, a 90's restyling of the immortal original, will go into production in 1998, thrusting the beetle into the 21st century.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about the new bug. It's styling is spot on and considering today's market expectations and ever stricter safety and emission regulations VW have seemingly produced another world-beater. Although most beetle fans would like to see a car that is rear engined, rear wheel drive and air cooled, it is unlikely that the mass market would put up with the beetle's "character", and the whole point is to bring the Volkswagen "People's Car" back to the masses.

No, the new beetle is a lot like a restyled Golf, frontdrive, water cooled engine, comfortable, economical and safe. But it is a much better looking and handling package. On the plus side, it is to be offered with a sliding glass roof that retracts behind the rear seat, just like the latest Porsches- I challenge any conventional bug to do that!

And the humble beetle has even crossed the English channel, Here's proof:


I took the photo a number of years back in Queensland. I don't remember how the setup works.

Beetle 1200 Spec Sheet

Here is a list of significant events in Beetle history.