1951 Volkswagen Beetle 2-Door Split-Window Coupe
2024.0033.0001, Savoy Collection
Engine: 69 cu. in. (1L) Light alloy block, OHV, 4-Cylinder
Output: 30 HP @ 3,300 RPM
Transmission: 4-Speed Manual
Wheelbase: 94 in.
Overall Length: 160 in.
Weight: 1600 lbs.
Top Speed: 60 MPH
No. Produced: 93,534
Original Price: $1,550
Manufacturer: Volkswagen
In 1965 Czechoslovakian auto manufacturer Tatra sued Volkswagen and was awarded 1,000,000 Marks. Pre-WWII, Tatra attempted to sue KdF (which later became VW) and Ferdinand Porsche because the design of the KdF Wagen was stolen from Tatra. Allegedly, Hitler advised Porsche not to settle, he would handle the matter. When the Nazis invaded Tatra’s homeland the lawsuit was conveniently dropped. The award to Tatra, however, was a pittance compared to VW’s profits from the Beetle.
Author Milton Meyer, living in Germany in the early 1950s wrote, “[of] Volkswagen’s twenty thousand employees (including executives), only 2 percent could afford to drive the cars they were making.” The “people’s car” was now financially out of the reach of most Germans. However, in the U.S. the firm Doyle, Dane, Bernach’s ad campaign promoted the little car as the “likable outsider.” The slogan, “Think small” was aimed at those opposed to the excessive, conspicuous consumption of American automobiles, and 550 Americans bought Beetles.