1-194-222 - National Motor Museum/Heritage Images

A 1953 Volkswagen Export Type I Beetle. This example was presented to Lord Montagu of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in 1963, to commemorate the sale of the first 100,000 cars in Britain. Ferdinand Porsche produced ancestral KdF-wagen prototypes in 1935. Batches of pre-production versions followed, before manufacture began in 1939, adapted for military use. Adolf Hitler advised that the Volkswagen People's Car be streamlined to 'look like a beetle'. Post-war civilian production was under British military control until 1949, when it reverted to German charge. During the late 1960s the Beetle became a world car. In 1981 the 20 millionth unit was built, smashing the Ford Model T's record of around 15 million.