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1947' Volkswagen Beetle
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€106,400Published 16 July 2017ID: pdZq2Z
Expired
7 years, 5 months ago
7 years, 5 months ago
Information from the owner
Age: 70 years
Seller's comments about 1947' Volkswagen Beetle
This is an extremely rare early post-war Volkswagen built during 1947 when the British were running the Wolfsburg VW factory.
For those of you who don't know much about the early days of Volkswagen, here's a very brief history lesson.
Back in the mid-1930s in pre-war Germany, Ferdinand Porsche was commissioned by the German government to develop a car for the people that every family could afford. By 1938, the concept had evolved into what we recognise today as the iconic Volkswagen. However, due to the war starting in 1939, production of the car, branded as the 'KdF-Wagen' or 'Strength Through Joy car', never started. The newly built Volkswagen factory diverted it's production to the military Kuebelwagen in 1940, a vehicle based on the KdF-Wagen chassis.
Through 1941-45, a small number of KdF-Wagens were manufactured at the factory- these were destined for ownership by high-ranking German officials and important public figures- they were never made available to the general population.
By the end of the war in 1945, the bomb-damaged factory at Wolfsburg fell into the British sector of Germany after the country was divided into four sectors. A young British Army Major by the name of Ivan Hirst was placed in charge of the factory, to assess the feasibility of the factory being able to produce vehicles. By late 1945, a few cars, now referred to as 'Volkswagens' were rolling off the production line, destined for use by British Army forces stationed in Germany. Shortages in raw materials ensured that only very low volumes of these vehicles would be produced.
During 1946, 10,000 vehicles were produced, but in 1947, material shortages ensured that this year would have the lowest every Volkswagen production numbers- just 8,987 cars were built. The vast majority of these early cars were assigned to military units of the British and American forces and led very hard, short lives.
In January 1948, the Wolfsburg factory was handed back to the Germans to run. Production volumes ramped up and the cars became more widely available to the public. The rest is history!
Very few of these early cars survive today and out of the production run of 8,987 Volkswagens produced in 1947, only around 70 examples survive worldwide.
This particular car was manufactured in September 1947 and assigned to the US Army. Little is known about its early history, but it was presumably sold in Germany as surplus Army stock and shipped to the US by a returning Serviceman. It was found in California in 1975 and restored to impeccable, original standards in 1990.
These early cars are very close in design to the original KdF-Wagen. By 1948, refinement in every area on the Volkswagen resulted in lots of design and part changes. Thankfully, this example retains all of the original pre-1948/49 parts and features that make these 'British' Beetles very difficult to restore. If you would like more information on this car, please drop me an email or call me.
For those of you who don't know much about the early days of Volkswagen, here's a very brief history lesson.
Back in the mid-1930s in pre-war Germany, Ferdinand Porsche was commissioned by the German government to develop a car for the people that every family could afford. By 1938, the concept had evolved into what we recognise today as the iconic Volkswagen. However, due to the war starting in 1939, production of the car, branded as the 'KdF-Wagen' or 'Strength Through Joy car', never started. The newly built Volkswagen factory diverted it's production to the military Kuebelwagen in 1940, a vehicle based on the KdF-Wagen chassis.
Through 1941-45, a small number of KdF-Wagens were manufactured at the factory- these were destined for ownership by high-ranking German officials and important public figures- they were never made available to the general population.
By the end of the war in 1945, the bomb-damaged factory at Wolfsburg fell into the British sector of Germany after the country was divided into four sectors. A young British Army Major by the name of Ivan Hirst was placed in charge of the factory, to assess the feasibility of the factory being able to produce vehicles. By late 1945, a few cars, now referred to as 'Volkswagens' were rolling off the production line, destined for use by British Army forces stationed in Germany. Shortages in raw materials ensured that only very low volumes of these vehicles would be produced.
During 1946, 10,000 vehicles were produced, but in 1947, material shortages ensured that this year would have the lowest every Volkswagen production numbers- just 8,987 cars were built. The vast majority of these early cars were assigned to military units of the British and American forces and led very hard, short lives.
In January 1948, the Wolfsburg factory was handed back to the Germans to run. Production volumes ramped up and the cars became more widely available to the public. The rest is history!
Very few of these early cars survive today and out of the production run of 8,987 Volkswagens produced in 1947, only around 70 examples survive worldwide.
This particular car was manufactured in September 1947 and assigned to the US Army. Little is known about its early history, but it was presumably sold in Germany as surplus Army stock and shipped to the US by a returning Serviceman. It was found in California in 1975 and restored to impeccable, original standards in 1990.
These early cars are very close in design to the original KdF-Wagen. By 1948, refinement in every area on the Volkswagen resulted in lots of design and part changes. Thankfully, this example retains all of the original pre-1948/49 parts and features that make these 'British' Beetles very difficult to restore. If you would like more information on this car, please drop me an email or call me.
