One beetle, two beetles – many beetles!

Pictured here we can see Ferdinand Porsche in 1937 as he thoroughly inspected the prototype of the KdF car. The same car should later become famous as the “Beetle”. Although the car underwent some variations over the decades, it basically preserved its character and vehicle frame.

Until June 2002, the beetle was the world’s best selling car with a quantity of 21.5 million vehicles. Just one other car managed to break that record and it also came from Volkswagen: the VW Golf.

But how did the KdF car actually acquire its legendary nickname? The foundation for it was laid by the New York Times, which reported in an article on July 3, 1938: “In the future, probably many thousands little shiny beetles will be scurrying on German motorways”. The future should prove the author of the article wrong. The beetle won the hearts of drivers worldwide and not just on the streets but also on cinema screens!