When all things are considered, the odds were pretty heavily stacked against the Beetle ever seeing the light of day, let alone becoming a cult car of any description.
When the order was given to design a car for the people, one that would allow Herr Schmidt and his family to cruise into a new world along Germany's autobahn network, many ideas were tossed on the table. Only one saw the light of day, the KdF-Wagen, the "Strength through Joy" car.
The successful designer was Dr Ferdinand Porsche and his concept was for a rounded, almost aerodynamic, vehicle mounted on a flat floorpan with torsion bar suspension at front and rear. Power came from an ingenious horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine cooled by air blown over the cylinders by a cooling fan mounted on the generator shaft.
The reasoning behind the suspension layout was that, by mounting the torsion bars transversely across the car, the designer could gain more interior space for the passengers. Torsion bars are also, by nature, rising rate springs - ie. the more you deform them, the stiffer they become. This is exactly what a lightweight vehicle needs, for if heavy springs are fitted then the ride becomes objectionably firm, while if they are too light then handling will be poor when the vehicle is heavily loaded.
As for the engine, Porsche had been experimenting with similar ideas for many years, even designing a four-cylinder air-cooled engine for Austro-Daimler as far back as 1912. The shape of the car was born out of Porsche's fascination for the streamlined race cars of Benz, and with the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, a teardrop-shaped machine that, for the first time, exploited nature's must perfect form, the teardrop.
However, Porsche soon discovered that there was another great benefit to be derived from the curving of the body panels - the car becomes much stronger. As Volkswagen themselves suggested in their advertising almost thirty years later, try tapping a few rival body panels. Few can withstand pressure like the Bug's suit of armour.
Among the engineering fraternity, the torsion bar suspension earned a lot of respect, as did the watch-like engine. To quote from a 1958 manual on how to modify your VW for speed (!), "The VW's appeal lies in the fact that it is an honest car, it does not pretend to be what it isn't. Every part of the VW has been designed to perform a duty, just like every part of an airplane engine has been designed to be functional. In fact, many fundamentals of aircraft practice are found on the VW. To mention but a few: functionality, lightness, efficiency, air-cooling and quality. In short, if to some the VW could not lay claim to be the most beautiful car in the world, it is an honest, functional, reliable and endearing piece of machinery".
But all this still doesn't answer the question of why so many people have modified Beetles, raced Beetles, built Buggies, chopped the fenders off to make Bajas, chopped roofs off to make Roadsters - even made them watertight to make them float (and swim)! Why does the Beetle have so strong an appeal that Walt Disney made a film hero out of one? Could Herbie have been anything other than a Beetle? Would the film have had the same appeal if it had been called "Herbie the Lamborghani"? I think not!!
For one thing, the shape is universally recognisable - just like the Coke bottle or Concorde. It has the look of a cute little cuddly toy from the front, an engine that sounds like a sewing machine and a character that overwhelms you as soon as you settle down behind the wheel. Everything about the Beetle is unique - and its connections with Porsche doesn't hurt either!
It is impossible to say who was the first person ever to take the body off a Beetle and drive the floorpan on the beach. It must have happened a long time ago, and I bet he didn't know what he was in at the beginning of. Bruce Meyers was the first to come up with a glass body for a Buggy, but who first cut the fenders off a Bug to make a Baja? Many people have claimed that honour, but it would be impossible to prove.
But all this still doesn't answer the question, why the Beetle? They are idiosyncratic, they have a mind of their own (especially when it comes to starting a six-volt Bug on a cold morning). Maybe this is the reason, but Beetle owners are sincere and helpful so the Bug must have some sort of effect on them. Some say they are crazy, but maybe being crazy ain't so bad.
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