1943 Volkswagen KdF-Wagen Sedan

The VW Beetle was designed in 1937 by Erwin Komenda under Professor Ferdinand Porsche on the instructions of Adolf Hitler to produce a 'peoples' car'. It was given aerodynamic styling and a split rear windows because curved glass was inordinately expensive. Stuttgart-based coachbuilder Reutter created the buck for the classic Beetle shape that would remain virtually unchanged until 1967.

On May 26th of 1938, Hitler laid the cornerstone of a new factory near Fallersleben, Lower Saxony. It was meant to produce the 'KdF-Wagen' and the adjoining new town would be known as 'KdF-Stadt'. After the war, it was renamed Wolfsburg.

The KdF-Wagen, the first example of the Volkswagen Beetle, were built in small quantities between 1937 and 1944. As many as 840 KdF Volkswagens may have been produced during that time. Most were supplied to minor officials in The National Socialist German Workers' Party. This particular example is a Type 60 that was originally delivered to the German Red Cross at Potzdam Babelsberg in Berlin on June 1st of 1943. In 2000, it was advertised for sale in a Polish provincial newspaper where it was purchased by its current owner. It was then sent to Germany, where it was delivered to Peter Schmalbach in Frankfurt-am-Mein for restoration. After Mr. Schmalbach died, the car was sent to Christian Grundmann in Hessisch Oldendorf for further restoration work, using original KDF parts as appropriate, before dispatch to Hermann Schimkat for final inspection. The completed car was delivered to its owner in Belgium, who promptly drove it 400km to a major Volkswagen show for its debut. It was then shipped to the owner's Tennessee residence in December of 2013.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2016