Is the Volkswagen Beetle a front wheel drive car?
Over time, front-wheel drive, and frequently hatchback-bodied cars would come to dominate the European small-car market. In 1974, Volkswagen’s own front-wheel drive Golf hatchback succeeded the Beetle.
Why did Volkswagen Beetles have to be air cooled?
The engine had to be powerful enough for sustained cruising on Germany’s Autobahnen. Everything had to be designed to ensure parts could be quickly and inexpensively exchanged. The engine had to be air-cooled because, as Hitler explained, not every country doctor had his own garage.
What kind of competition did the Volkswagen Beetle face?
As the 1960s came to a close, Volkswagen faced increasingly stiff competition from European cars as well. The Beetle was faced with competition from new designs like the Fiat 127 and Renault 5, and more robust designs based on the Austin Mini layout such as the Superminis.
Who was the first person to design the Volkswagen Beetle?
Béla Barényi is credited with first conceiving the original design for this car in 1925, —notably by Mercedes-Benz, on their website, including his original technical drawing, —five years before Porsche claimed to have done his initial version.
What was the first year the Volkswagen Beetle was made?
Although designed in the 1930s, due to World War II, civilian Beetles only began to be produced in significant numbers by the end of the 1940s. The car was then internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the Volkswagen. Later models were designated Volkswagen 1200, 1300, 1500, 1302, or 1303,…
How many horsepower does a Volkswagen Beetle have?
As Autobahn speeds increased in the postwar years, its output was boosted to 36, then 40 hp, the configuration that lasted through 1966 and became the “classic” Volkswagen motor.