1934
On January 17th, 1934, the new German Reich government received a design proposal for a people's car, a "Volkswagen," from a man called Ferdinand Porsche. Shortly thereafter, a contract was signed between the RDA (Reichsverband der Automobilindustrie), the German motor industry association, and Porsche. On a development budget of 20,000 Reichsmark a month, Porsche had ten months to produce the first prototype for the "people's car" The following criteria had to be met:
Track 1,200 mm Wheel base 2,500 mm Max.output 26 bhp Max. rpm 3,500 Unladen weight 650 kg Retail price 1,550 RM Top speed 100 km/h Hill-climbing ability 30% Average fuel consumption 81/100 km/h Suspension Fully independent
Porsche soon discovered that working with the RDA was a mixed blessing. German car manufacturers were at the time building exclusive luxury cars for wealthy customers. Porsche, on the other hand, wanted to a build a "proper" small car. This idea was alien to the RDA, who only formally adhered to the contract because of pressure from the Reich government. In reality, Porsche received very little support. The German motor industry rather hoped that the project would fail.
1935
Despite the motor industry's negative attitude, a committed team began work on the design and construction of the envisaged "car for the masses" in Porsche's private workshop. Technical difficulties and the search for ideal solutions led to a twelve-month extension of the contract.
Porsche made many different demands of his team and his "people's car," but they were all characterized by his resolve to create a reliable, economical, and most importantly, fully fledged car that need fear no comparison, even with the larger competition. Technological innovations in the chassis, engine, and transmission were at the time developed regardless of cost, with the sole aim of determining the ideal solution.
Despite the availability of cheaper alternatives, the more costly air-cooled horizontally opposed engine was preferred because of its full-throttle endurance.
For reasons of stability, the floor group was to be constructed completely from sheet steel, instead of the cheaper steel and-wood construction. The torsion bar suspension, developed by Porsche, gave the car excellent road-holding, while ensuring a comfortable ride. The user-friendliness of the "people's car" was unmatched. The instrumentation was well laid out, and the car had heating as standard -- a feature that not even all larger vehicles offered at the time.
1934-1939 When a car was still a luxury
1935
In October 1935, the first prototype was built in secret. The public were as yet unaware that this design was one day to become one of the best-known symbols of German manufacturing quality.
The car looked quite unusual and very different from its final design. The distinctive split rear window ("pretzel window"), the running boards and bumpers, were not as yet part of the design. The headlights were still located on the lid of the luggage compartment. The doors were still hinged at the rear and were only changed in the final prototype series in 1938, under American influence. Despite these limitations, when compared with later series production models, the first prototype of the "people's car" was an outstanding example of modern small-car construction: full steel bodywork, space for five people, and very acceptable performance set it apart from other designs. In addition to the technical objectives, there was also an economic one. This was primarily to increase the economic significance of the motor industry in order on the one hand to create jobs, and on the other to promote mass car ownership in Germany. In 1936, only one in forty-nine Germans owned a car.
1934-1939 The first prototypes take to the road
1936
Two more "people's cars" were produced -- a saloon and a convertible.
The plans for the construction of a Volkswagen factory were drawn up in mid-1936, largely because no member of the RDA was prepared to build the "people's car" in its own factory. They feared political pressure on private companies. Porsche, therefore, traveled to America to observe and learn production techniques which would benefit the planned series production of the "people's car."
The projected production target of 1,000,000 vehicles a year was unimaginable for European manufacturers. Just how high it was is reflected in the fact that it took Volkswagen until 1961 to reach that level of production.
The 50,000 km test-drives of the VW 3-series, from October to December 1936, were a milestone in the development history of the "people's car." Everything was carefully recorded with the help of the Kienzle trip recorder, which had just been produced, and was used for the first time during these tests. The test was virtually continuous.
Porsche's employees drove over 800 km a day. Necessary repairs were undertaken at night. Here is a resumé of the final test verdict: "The vehicle has . . . demonstrated characteristics which warrant further development."
1937
The development costs of all the prototypes, up to the final design of 1938, amounted to about 30 million Reichsmark, a very reasonable sum for a vehicle that was so far ahead of its time.
Production gets the go-ahead. The order for construction of the "people's car," the Volkswagen factory, and a town to go with it, was given by the Reich government to the head of the German Labor Front (DAF -- Deutsche Arbeitsfront). The search for a suitable location was not an easy one because strategic considerations, as well as business ones, had to be taken into account. This meant that the factory should be located in the middle of the Reich, close to major transport routes.
The GEZUVOR (Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Volkswagens -- Company for the development of the Volkswagen) was set up on May 28th, 1938.
1938
On September 16th, the GEZUVOR became the Volkswagenwerk GmbH. and was entered in the commercial register on October 13th. The registered office was in Berlin until 1948. The company's expenditures were met mostly from the coffers of the DAF. The product, the Volkswagen, was to be financed by a specially created savings scheme which was supposed to work as follows: money was paid into an account, to be held until the completed vehicle was delivered. This meant that for five marks a week, many people soon had the value of a car in stamps. Unfortunately this was as far as they got.
The first "people's car" in its final form was produced. This was the "Beetle," as the New York Times rather ironically called it on July 3rd, 1938. It was one of the prototypes of the VW 38-series which was presented to the public through Press and propaganda runs while still being tested.
As part of the tests, one of these Volkswagens drove the Großglockner alpine road. The result of this test was that the Beetle, with two occupants, covered the 12.6 km course, with an altitude difference of 1,232 m, in a time of 21 minutes and 54.4 seconds, at an average speed of 34.5 km/h. A motoring journalist wrote "much larger cars need on average 25 to 26 minutes to negotiate this stretch -- if they don't come to a steaming halt first. The 'strength through joy' car leaves them standing on these gradients . . ." On May 26th, 1938, the foundation stone for the Volkswagen factory was laid near the town of Fallersleben. Although the construction of the production halls had begun in February, because of time considerations, this was regarded as the official start of the construction of the largest car factory in the world under one roof. 1938 also saw the start of construction of the town provisionally named "Town of the 'strength through joy' car" (Stadt des KdF-Wagens).
1934-1939 The "strength through joy" car.
1939
Construction of the factory proceeded rapidly, so that by April, the installation of equipment could go ahead. The machinery and equipment from the United States had begun to arrive.
Volkswagens were making propaganda runs all across Germany. A special edition Type 64 (40 bhp, 140 km/h), with a streamlined body, was constructed for a long-distance run from Berlin to Rome. This vehicle was never used because of the outbreak of the Second World War.
Construction of the Volkswagen factory was halted by the outbreak of war. There had as yet been no series production of the Beetle as we understand it today. There were 170,000 savings applications for the "strength through joy" cars between the launch of the scheme on August 1st, 1938, and the end of 1939. The Volkswagenwerk GmbH owned 2,930 hectares of land, 755 of which were situated north of the Mittelland Canal. It had a workforce of 4,826. The whole town center was owned by the company. Today the Volkswagen AG factory site in Wolfsburg comprises some 740 ha.
The Braunschweig training factory was completed. Qualified engineers and specialists were to be trained here for the main factory. Because of the outbreak of war, only one year's intake passed through here. Turnover was zero. By the end of 1939, the Volkswagenwerk had lost 5 million Reichsmark.
VOLKSWAGON
GOLF
WOLF GOLF
BEETLE
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