Who designed the classic VW Beetle? A new book stirs controversy. Gold 1955 car is millionth VW built.Who designed the classic Volkswagen Beetle? A new book is stirring controversy regarding VW's history as it attempts to set the record straight. Ferdinand Porsche has always received credit as the icon's designer and there is no doubt he was the engineer who developed a working, producible prototype from Adolph Hitler's command to produce a "people's car."
See part 2 of this story here.
Dutch historian Paul Schilperoord has written a new book, The True Story of the Beetle in which he states that Joseph Ganz, a Hungarian engineer living in Germany, developed a small car starting in the 1920s. He wrote many articles campaigning for a radically new auto design incorporating a rear engine, independent suspension, and a tidy, streamlined body shape years before Porsche started work on the Volkswagen. Ganz had little financial backing to pursue his innovative ideas and worst of all for him, he was a Jew living in Hitler's Germany. According to Shilperoord, charges were trumped up and Ganz was thrown in jail. Once released, he fled to Switzerland then migrated to Australia where he worked for Holden Motors. Ganz died penniless and obscure.
According to Shilperoord's book, Adolph Hitler was aware of Ganz's theories and commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to design a car based on them. Hitler set out his requirments for Herr Porsche:
- The car should be able to carry two adults and three children.
- It should have a cruising speed of 100 kmp.
- The fuel consumption should not exceed 0,8 liter per 10 km.
- The engine had to be air cooled.
- The car should be able to carry three soldiers and a machine gun
- The price should be less than 1.000 RM. This was 2/3 the price of the cheapest car available.
It is often said that, "while failure is an orphan, success has a thousand fathers." And the VW Beetle was the most successful single car design in history with over 25 million sold in its run from 1946-2003. Schilperoord's book is bound to ignite discussion, but he's not stopping there, plans are afoot for a documentary film as well. Auto engineers and historians have long known of Ganz's contributions, perhaps Shilperoord's efforts will bring this story to the attention of the general public for the first time.
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