Editing Volkswagen Beetle (section)

=== World War II and military production: 1938–1945 ===
[[File:ATMS 52 - Volkswagen.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Sand-coloured Volkswagen indoors.|Sand-coloured VW Type 82E — a Wehrmacht Beetle on the [[Volkswagen Kübelwagen|Kübelwagen's]] underpinnings.]]
The name ''Volkswagen'' was officially substituted by the term KdF (''[[Kraft durch Freude]]''; German for 'Strength Through Joy') derived from the Nazi organisation once Hitler ceremoniously laid the foundation stone for the Volkswagen factory on 26 May 1938.<ref>{{cite news|mode=cs2|url=https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?apm=0&aid=ibn&datum=19380527&seite=2|title=Innsbruck News, May 27, 1938|newspaper=[[Austrian Newspapers Online]]|access-date=17 February 2024|via=[[Austrian National Library]]|archive-date=18 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818184134/https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?apm=0&aid=ibn&datum=19380527&seite=2|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Etzold|1983|p=74}} As part of this organisation, Volkswagen urged workers to "save five marks a week and get your car".{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=70}}<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nazi_propaganda_gallery_04.shtml|title= Nazi Propaganda: Saving for a Volkswagen|newspaper=[[BBC]]|date=17 February 2011|access-date=17 February 2024|first=David|last=Welch|mode=cs2|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210903013909/https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nazi_propaganda_gallery_04.shtml |archive-date=3 September 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.businessinsider.com/brought-to-you-by-podcast-btyb-vw-beetle|title=25. The VW Beetle's Dark Past|first1=Sally|last1=Herships|first2=Sarah|last2=Wyman|first3=Amy|last3=Pedulla|first4=Dan|last4=Bobkoff|date=13 August 2020|access-date=17 February 2024|mode=cs2|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220818180751/https://www.businessinsider.com/brought-to-you-by-podcast-btyb-vw-beetle |archive-date=18 August 2022|url-status=live|website=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref> Before the completion of the KdF factory, many Germans had already signed up for a savings plan to buy a car. At that time, Germany had fewer cars than other European countries. In 1930, there were only about 500,000 registered cars in Germany, while France and Great Britain had over 1 million each, and the USA had more than 26 million.{{sfn|Cassis|De Luca|Florio|2015|p=199}}{{sfn|Ziemann|Rossol|2021|p=437}} However, the onset of [[the Second World War]] hindered the distribution of the cars, and there was a lack of time for [[series production]]. With the Volkswagen facility dedicated solely to wartime requirements, the over 330,000 KdF savers could not acquire their vehicles.{{sfn|Angolia|Littlejohn|1999|p=215}}{{sfn|Marsh|2020|p=26}} Following the war, numerous KdF savers pressed for the receipt of a Volkswagen. When their request was denied, the VW saver initiative ensued, spanning several years.<ref>{{cite news|mode=cs2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008234608/https://www.zeit.de/1959/41/letzte-runde-im-vw-sparer-prozess|archive-date=8 October 2016|url=https://www.zeit.de/1959/41/letzte-runde-im-vw-sparer-prozess|trans-title=Last round in the VW saver process?|title=Letzte Runde im VW-Sparer-Prozeß?|author=K. D.|date=9 October 1959|access-date=20 February 2024|url-status=live|language=German|via=[[Zeit Online]]|newspaper=[[Die Zeit]]}}</ref>

During the war, the factory predominantly built the ''[[Volkswagen Kübelwagen|Kübelwagen]]'' (Type 82),{{sfn|Mommsen|Grieger|1996|p=330}}{{sfn|Ingrassia|2012|p=89}} the ''[[Schwimmwagen]]'' (Type 166){{sfn|Reich|2018|p=161}}{{sfn|Ingrassia|2012|p=89}} and numerous other [[Military light utility vehicle|light utility vehicles]]. These vehicles were derived mechanically from the Type 1 and used by the ''[[Wehrmacht]]''.{{sfn|Euler|2010|p=30}}<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1950746/escape-roads-1943-volkswagen-kbelwagen/|title= Escape Roads: 1943 Volkswagen Kübelwagen|website=[[Autoweek]]|first=Jim|last=Allen|date=15 May 2012|access-date=21 February 2024|mode=cs2|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221209100804/https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1950746/escape-roads-1943-volkswagen-kbelwagen/ |archive-date=9 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Scholz|2023|p=85}} These vehicles, including several hundred [[Volkswagen Kommandeurswagen|''Kommandeurswagen'']] (Type 87), featured a Type 1 Beetle body mounted on the robust chassis of the four-wheel-drive Type 86 ''Kübelwagen'' prototype. The ''Kommandeurswagen'' included a portal axle, a ''Schwimmwagen'' drivetrain, wider fenders, and oversized Kronprinz all-terrain tyres, reminiscent of the later [[Baja Bug]]s.{{sfn|Mayer|1988|p=33}} The production of the ''Kommandeurswagen'' persisted until 1944 when the production at the plant halted due to the extensive damage inflicted by the Allied air raids.{{sfn|Mayer|1988|pp=30–33}} Due to gasoline shortages late in the war, a few "''Holzbrenner''" (wood-burner) Beetles were built fueled with wood logs.{{sfn|Flammang|1996|p=28}}

[[File:VW Berlin-Rom,Bj.1939vorn.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Porsche 64]] (''pictured in 1981'') was largely derived from the Beetle.|alt=Blue sports racing car on the Nürburgring track in 1981.]]

Planned for September 1939, ''[[Kraft durch Freude]]'' arranged an event to showcase Germany's [[Autobahn]] highway system and to promote the purported beginning of the production of the ''KdF-Wagen'', involving a 1,500-kilometre{{nbsp}}(930{{nbsp}}mi) journey from Berlin to Rome.<ref name="Hagerty64">{{cite web|url= https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/first-porsche-for-sale-big-deal/|title= The first car to bear the Porsche name is up for sale, and here's why it's a big deal|first=Ronnie|last=Schreiber|website=[[Hagerty (insurance)|Hagerty]]|date=14 May 2019|access-date=20 February 2024|mode=cs2|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231206074617/https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/first-porsche-for-sale-big-deal/ |archive-date=6 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> Erwin Komenda supervised the development process, while Karl Froelich was responsible for creating official plans that they subsequently used to form a wooden scale model. The model was wind tunnel tested at [[Stuttgart University]] by Josef Mickl.<ref>{{cite web|mode=cs2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001183722/https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo19/monterey/lots/r0031-1939-porsche-type-64/776606|url=https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo19/monterey/lots/r0031-1939-porsche-type-64/776606|title=1939 Porsche Type 64|website=[[RM Sotheby's]]|archive-date=1 October 2023|url-status=live|access-date=22 February 2024}}</ref> Dubbed the "Berlin-Rome car", Porsche AG's engineers designed the Type 60 K 10, officially known as the [[Porsche 64]].{{sfn|Leffingwell|2022|p=22}}{{sfn|Adler|2003|p=58}} Although the engineers produced three vehicles, they never made it to the race due to the [[Timeline of World War II (1939)|outbreak of war]] before the scheduled date;<ref name="Hagerty64"/> two of them disappeared during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/11/business/first-porsche-type-64-auction.html|title='First' Porsche Heads to Auction, and a Record Price Is Expected|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 August 2019|url-access=subscription|mode=cs2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811173002/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/11/business/first-porsche-type-64-auction.html|archive-date=11 August 2019|access-date=21 February 2024|first=Rob|last=Sass|url-status=live}}</ref> Austrian Otto Mathé acquired the third Berlin-Rome car and raced it throughout the 1950s, becoming the fastest in its class during the 1950 Alpine Cup.{{sfn|Pfundner|Christoph Graf von Seherr-Thoss|Swann|2005|p=67}} He continued to use it until his death in 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/oldest-surviving-porsche-probably-fetch-174000946.html|title=The Oldest-Surviving Porsche Will Probably Fetch $20 Million at Auction|website=[[Yahoo! Finance]]|date=14 May 2019|access-date=21 February 2024|mode=cs2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221084911/https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/oldest-surviving-porsche-probably-fetch-174000946.html|archive-date=21 February 2024|url-status=live|first=Chris|last=Perkins}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/first-car-to-wear-porsche-badge-could-fetch-more-than-20-million-at-rm-sothebys-01557776579|title=First Car to Wear Porsche Badge Could Fetch More Than $20 Million|newspaper=[[Barron's]]|first=Fang|last=Block|date=13 May 2019|access-date=21 February 2024|mode=cs2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518221623/https://www.barrons.com/articles/first-car-to-wear-porsche-badge-could-fetch-more-than-20-million-at-rm-sothebys-01557776579|archive-date=18 May 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
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