The Bug's Life: A History of the Volkswagen Beetle

War is over! While Times Square goes nuts, sailors kiss random women, and the world lets out a collective sigh of relief as Germany falls to the Allied forces, the factory where Volkswagens were to be built lies in ruin. Located in a buggy swampland along the river Aller in what would later become Wolfsburg, the factory had yet to build a single civilian model, having been converted to build war munitions and VW-based vehicles shortly after its construction in 1938.

Production of the Volkswagen—the name "Beetle" had yet to stick—was plagued by ongoing repairs to the Wolfsburg factory, coal and materials shortages, and the fact the company lacked a true owner. The Allied Military Government places a Brit, Major Ivan Hirst, in charge of the factory, which is put back into service to fulfill an order for 20,000 VWs for the occupation forces. Pictured here is the 10,000th Bug assembled there.

An ex-Opel executive, Heinz Nordhoff, gets hired to run the place when the British begin attempting to transition ownership of the "Wolfsburg Motor Works," as it had come to be named, to almost anyone willing to take it. Henry Ford II refuses to take the operation as a gift; the British auto industry also has no interest in the car or the factory. Undeterred, Nordhoff sets up exports to Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and Switzerland. Nordhoff's zeal for exports is less about expanding VW's sales and more about bringing in hard currency from outside Germany. Sales are strong at home, but German currency isn't worth much. The factory needs machinery from abroad, particularly from America, and holding foreign currency is key. But no currency glows greener in Nordhoff's eyes than American dollars.

One of VW's first export markets is Holland, where a man by the name of Ben Pon sells 56 cars so successfully that Nordhoff calls upon him to make a go at the U.S. market. A few cars had made their way to the States by this time, brought over by returning servicemen as the occupation wound down. Pon travels to New York with a single VW and some spare parts, but anti-German sentiment remains strong, and the trip is a disaster. Pon is forced to sell the car and attendant parts in order to pay his hotel bill and travel back to Europe. Nordhoff tries for himself later that same year, but he, too, is rebuffed. At the same time, ownership of VW is finally transferred from the Allied Military Government to the West German federal government. The first civilian cabriolet—built by Karmann—appears in 1949.

Success! A VW is officially exported to the U.S. An East Coast foreign-car dealer, Max Hoffman, is appointed exclusive VW importer for America east of the Mississippi River. Hoffman sells 330 VWs, mostly to other dealers throughout the U.S. Many of the VWs are tacked onto orders for Porsches and Jaguars—as in, to expedite orders of sexy sports cars, dealers agree to buy a VW or two from Hoffman. The cars are cheap, and dealers discover they aren't that difficult to sell.

By 1951, the original Type I's cable brakes are replaced by hydraulically operated drums at all four corners, and the engine gains a Solex carburetor. Power swells from 24 horsepower to 30.

In 1952, Volkswagen fits the transmission's second, third, and fourth gears with synchromesh.

Volkswagen replaces the split-rear-window design, so coveted by collectors today, for 1953 with a slightly larger, single oval rear window.

For the first time, Volkswagen increases the Beetle engine's displacement from 1131 cc to 1192 cc. Power rises from 30 horsepower to 36.

In 1955, with production humming along, Volkswagen builds its one-millionth Beetle in Wolfsburg. Only about 9000 make their way to the U.S. The same year, Volkswagen of America is formed. A host of dealerships are established. VW holds them to strict parts availability and presentation expectations. As for the Beetle, it loses its old-school turn-signal semaphores in favor of more modern signal lamps.

Once again, Volkswagen messes with the Beetle's rear window, enlarging the opening for 1958. A year earlier, the company had equipped the little car with tubeless tires for the first time.

The 1950s and 1960s see Volkswagen expand its clever, often self-deprecating advertising. In 1961, the Beetle's transmission becomes fully synchronized, and an automatic choke and a pump-type windshield washer system are fitted. Output rises to 40 horsepower.

The Bug's engine grew in size again for 1966, to 1285 cc, prompting the addition of a slightly optimistic "1300" badge to the trunk. Output increases to 50 horsepower.

Volkswagen again juices the Beetle's engine, increasing displacement to 1493 cc, netting another 3 horsepower and a badge update to "1500." In '67, the Bug inherits 12-volt electronics, dual-circuit brakes, and two-speed windshield wipers.

Throughout the 1960s, Bruce Meyers works to perfect his idea of the Beetle-based dune buggy. California beach culture spawns a few "kit cars" that utilize the Beetle's floor pan, engine, and transmission, making it a snap to pick up a junked Bug and transform it into a wild beachcomber. A few years of development results in Meyers' kit, the Manx, leading the pack. We place one of his Manxes on the cover of our April 1967 issue.

For such a low-tech car, the Beetle—at least for a time—offers a decidedly high-tech transmission. In 1968, VW introduces the Automatic Stick Shift semi-automatic transmission option, essentially a regular Beetle four-speed manual with first gear removed, a torque converter added, and a vacuum-operated clutch that disengages anytime the shifter moves. Simply move the lever to the desired gate, let go, and get back on the gas, and the system figures out the rest. The technology is shared with Porsche (Sportomatic), but the brazen "Automatic" decklid badging is all VW's.

In our testing, the Automatic Stick Shift (we dub it "A.S.S." in our 1968 review) wasn't much slower than the regular Beetle 1500. Its quarter-mile time of 21.1 seconds trails the stick-shift model's by only 1.3 seconds. The automatic model also adds a new double-jointed rear-axle design, modeled after the setup in the VW Microbus. Compared with the Bug's original swing axles, the new suspension greatly enhances the Beetle's handling.

Disney's first "Herbie" movie, The Love Bug, debuts in 1968. The plot features a self-aware Beetle that is tied up in hijinks while also proving itself a successful race car. Early autonomous technology enables Herbie to motor about on its own, a feat that's slightly more believable than the ease with which the 40-hp '63 Bug dispatches competitors at the track.

The "double-jointed" rear axle fit to '68 Automatics expands to every Beetle in 1969. Also, the rear window gains an electric defroster.

Engine displacement again increases, rising to 1585 cc and bringing horsepower to 57. Every U.S.-spec Beetle becomes a "1600."

Just as the rear suspension was updated for 1969, the front suspension receives its first redo for 1971. Super Beetle buyers net a larger front trunk, thanks to a strut-type suspension. Also in 1971, ports for computer-analysis tools are fit halfway through the model year. In a six-car comparison test in 1971, the Super Beetle places fifth. About the new front suspension, we declare "only an expert could detect [it] from the driver's seat." The fitment of new cylinder heads with two intake ports per cylinder instead of one brings three additional horsepower (for 60 total). This renders the Super Beetle the fastest Bug we ever test (at the time), dropping its quarter-mile time to 19.8 seconds. The run to 60 mph takes nearly as long, at 16.1 seconds.