History of the Classiest Volkswagen
page 5

Berlin, 1908. The middle aged Mr Porsche, the founder of Porsche Motors, is rummaging through the rubbish from Daimler Benz in the hope of finding some scrap for his latest project when he came across the one and only 'Pompeii Beetle'. Of course he did not refer to it as the Pompeii Beetle but, just like so many other notable people before him, it reminded him of a beetle. Not just any old beetle, but a design for a car!

Maybe this would be a good time to explain a bit about Porsche himself. Many talk about him using words like "Genius", and "Child prodigy". When Porsche was young he designed a lighting system for his area before most other areas of Germany even had electricity. He invented well and little did he know at this time that he would be the first designer of one of the worlds most popular sports cars. At this time Porsche was in fact looking for parts for his next project, a type of skateboard with wings for gliding. This never got completed because of his latest find, which brings us back to our story.

Porsche, with the help of a trustworthy friend, took his 'Benz Beetle' (as he now called it) back home. Once back at his house he immediately said goodbye to his friend and went up to his room to do some designing.

After many days hard work, he had a design almost exactly the same as his 'Benz Beetle'. He then went to the Government to ask for a grant to start production. He was awarded the grant but with many conditions, too numerous to list, all of which he fulfilled.

His 'Benz Beetle' was rolling off the production line in the mid-20's. The delay was caused by Porsche's factory being used for the war effort. By the 40's, Volkswagen (the company left in control of the Beetle's production after Porsche left) had sold over one million cars. By the 50's, Volkswagen had set up Beetle production lines in Brazil, Holland and Ireland. With production plants all over the world, Beetles had become more accessible. Volkswagen had become a household name the world over.

So next time you hop in your Beetle, think about all the people who helped to bring it, to you.