pre-production sample

LIMITED EDITION 750

Developed for a government contract in the 1930s by the Stuttgart design office Porsche, the VW Beetle became the world’s best-selling car over the course of its 65-year production history, overtaking the previous record holder, the Ford T model known as “Tin Lizzy”. The most outstanding features of the “Beetle” were its revolutionary streamlined shape, an air-cooled 4-cylinder boxer engine, a cutting-edge platform chassis and a newly developed torsion bar suspension. Continuous improvements were made to the series over the years. Evidence shows that no less than 78,000 technical changes were made to the VW Beetle from 1948 to 1974.

During a meeting to discuss the VW Beetle in 1954, the former Managing Director of the Volkswagen plant, Heinrich Nordhoff, remarked: “We are convinced that salvation lies not in new designs, however bold and magnificent they may be, but in the consistent and never-ending development of even the smallest details to maturity and perfection. This is the key to truly surprising success”.