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Best Engineered Car of the 20th Century
1940 - 1949: 1949 Volkswagen Beetle
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Distinctive split rear window shown on early VW. Photo courtesy of Volkswagen of America, Inc.
One of the first 1949 Beetles shipped to the U.S. Photo courtesy of Volkswagen of America, Inc.
1949 VW Beetle. Photo courtesy of Volkswagen of America, Inc.
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It was in the 1930s when Ferdinand Porsche created the "people's car"— the Volkswagen. The Type 1 Volkswagen with its distinctive shape became known as the "Beetle" and became the most popular mass-mobility car of all time. The first VW Beetle arrived in New York in January of 1949. The selling price was $800 and two were sold that year in the U.S. By 1960, Volkswagen had imported 500,000 Beetles into the U.S., and by 1981 the 20,000,000th Beetle was produced.
The rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car had excellent road-handling capabilities, especially in winter. The gasoline tank was mounted under the front hood. Early models did not have a gas gauge but did have a reserve tank that was activated by a lever in the passenger compartment.
The Beetles were powered by a four cylinder 1.13 L motor that delivered 18.6 kW (25 hp) at 3000 rpm. The horizontal pistons had a bore of 75 mm (2.94 in) and a stroke of 64 mm (2.52 in) with a compression ratio of 5.8:1. The crankcase was a two-piece design with bolt-on finned cylinder heads. The centrally mounted camshaft was gear driven directly off the forged steel camshaft. The pushrods were housed in separate tubes connected to the aluminum alloy heads. The engine was air cooled by an upright fan connected by a shaft to the generator, that was belt driven.
The two-piece rear window stayed with the Beetle until 1953. The outside shape of the original Beetle stayed with it through the years while changes were made to almost everything else on the car. The last of the original Beetles that were shipped to the U.S. in 1977 cost $3599.
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