► Photothread: Volkswagen Beetle - Vw Käfer thread

[Wolfsangel]

Hello

Here is one I found on the web. No info as to where or when the picture was taken

VWW.jpg (101.07 KiB) Viewed 5067 times

enoy
W.A.

[Luftflotte2]

Why they got the name of "Beetle" Now that is an interesting design!

1931-1945-volkswagen_beetle-7.jpg (30.64 KiB) Viewed 5030 times

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1931-1945 ... /printable

Another from Time-Life

[Wolfsangel]

nice pics Luftflotte2

here are two more

first one is a row of the earlier model VW, second one the more conventional bugs, dates and places unknown





enjoy
W.A.

[Matt Gibbs]

The photo with the car being examined by all the troops might be outside the special garages where the last series of prototype cars were housed when they were completed their long schedule of tests. It seems familiar somehow and I have seen a shot of a group of cars parked outside them, but with only a couple of drivers, and I think it is the crowds in this photo which is confusing me. I will have to look through some of my old VW magazine clippings.
Nice pic though.
IIRC the IIIA 43005 number plate marks it as 5th of the 3rd series of advanced prototypes. Somewhere I have a bunch of lovely photos I got of these cars via the Porsche Archiv. I will scan a few for interest if anyone wants when I can find where they are stored. I had a lot of very early KdF Wagen stuff at one time including the rare Motor Schau magazine with one in a lovely colour drawing on the autobahn.
Regards
Matt

[Matt Gibbs]

The Motor Schau magazines can be seen here:

http://www.kdf-wagen.de/kdfwagen/_mag.p ... pp=&bok=OK

[Luftflotte2]

I will scan a few for interest if anyone wants when I can find where they are stored

I'm interested!

more pictures here
http://yourvolkswagencars.blogspot.com/ ... eetle.html

The interior of the 1938 model from http://classicautomobile.blogspot.com/2 ... eetle.html

[Luftflotte2]

Lots to explore!

http://www.353id.org/kdf.html

http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Volkswagen/

http://szhaman.livejournal.com/418561.html

http://fuscaclube-bh.blogspot.com/2009/ ... ndo-o.html

http://www.flat4.org/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 59&start=0

http://einestages.spiegel.de/static/ent ... a=1323&c=1

http://fuscaclube-bh.blogspot.com/2009/ ... -type.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29051501@N ... 5167050308

Of course not all the pictures here are of pre-1945 Beetles but nonetheless there are plenty.

[Wolfsangel]

Hi Luftflotte2 & Matt Gibbs

I'm always keen to see pictures of the early VWs, particularly in use during WW2

here is another, place and date unknown, destroyed buildings in the background,



enjoy
W.A.

[Wolfsangel]

and another from kfz.der.wehrmacht



enjoy
W.A.

[Keessmit]

Civilian early VW Kuebelwagen. From ebay. Date unknown. Quite rare a civiliann one, I suppose. date unknown but looks like a war-time photo with its central camo headlamp.
Kees

[Matt Gibbs]

Weird! What exactly is this? Some kind of KdF prototype, or a converstion of a wartime vehicle? Huge sparewheel in the bonnet ruins the simplicity ruins the the sleekness of the lines. Also the huge open doors don't smack much of safety features. Is it maybe converted from a woodgas burning one which had a weird bonnet anyway? It also seems to have a greater ride height, and of course no lights faired into the wings. The notek light would have been superfluous after the war anyway, so why keep it?
Interesting photo.

[Wolfsangel]

Weird! What exactly is this? Some kind of KdF prototype, or a converstion of a wartime vehicle?

I don't know anything about this vehicle

It seems to have the windscreen and surrounding panel of a soft top beetle. IIIA numberplates are commonly seen on beetles pre WW2 and during WW2. Not sure about the IIIB, though I think they are of the same era. Is the guy sitting in the car Dr. F. Porsche ?

Here is a pic of a soft top beetle with a strange aerial rigged up in it



W.A.

[Luftflotte2]

It looks like there is a defect in the photo right where the plate is, but it looks like a IIB which means its Government District Upper Bavaria. Or as i look closer at it, it seems to be a MB?
according to this http://www.kfzderwehrmacht.de/Homepage_ ... mbers.html

[Keessmit]

Civilian early VW Kuebelwagen. From ebay. Date unknown. Quite rare a civiliann one, I suppose. date unknown but looks like a war-time photo with its central camo headlamp.
Kees

I looked through my books and found detailed info on this very car.
The actual car is the very first 1938 Typ 62. It was designed by Franz Xaver Reimpiess while its body was designed by Reutter. Chassis was a VW 38 one. It was criticized by the military authorities for its two-wheel drive, limited ground clearance and inability to tow a gun. Military personnel thought it to pretty, the reason why the final Kuebelwagen got more aggressive looks. The car was pensioned off but Herbert Kaes (The man sitting in the Kuebelwagen on the photo), was allowed to use it. Kaes was with Porsche since 1936. He assisted Porsche in his garage and drove and tested all prototypes. He repainted the prototype Kuebelwagen in a two-tone livery with dark blue wings. It was donated to Hitler and therefore was registered at Berchtesgaden with a Upper Bavarian IIB registration. The fate of the car is unknown.
Kees

[Keessmit]

Here another photo