History: Relatives of the Beetle

There are a lot of cars designed on the chassis of the Beetle, including military vehicles, private cars and very special models. The most famous example is the Volkswagen Transporter, also known as the "Volkswagen Bus". Military vehicles based on the Beetle were: the Kübelwagen, the Kommandeurswagen and the Schwimmwagen. At this page, you can find more detailed information of the five best known relatives of the Beetle.

Used in WW II as the counterpart of the American Jeep, the Kübelwagen was a recognizable vehicle on Europe's battlefields. The Kübelwagen was build on the chassis of the Beetle. The body was ironically manufactured by the American company Ambi-Budd in Berlin. The Kübelwagen was usable in artic regions as well in deserts. Because the engine was air-cooled, the engine couldn't freeze or overheat. Originally the car had a 985cc engine, but in 1944 the Kübelwagen got a new 1131cc engine, which was also used for the first Beetles built after the war. The Wehrmacht used 50,000 Kübelwagens. The civilian version of the Kübelwagen, type 181 or also known as 'the thing', was very popular among youngsters.

Kommandeurswagen / type 82E

For use in the war, Porsche designed a military version of the KdF-wagen. This became the Kommandeurswagen, an four-wheel-drive car with a higher chassis then the original Kdf-wagen. The car had good off-road capacibilities but on paved roads it hadn't a good handling. The front-axis were taken from the Kübelwagen, the greater space under the car was won by placing reduction boxes. Only 667 Kommandeurswagens were built from 1942 and 1944.

Schwimmwagen / type 166

The amphibious vehicle of the Nazis was the Schwimmwagen. It featured a 1131 cc, 28 hp engine, a fully-sealed body, and a retractable propeller The Schwimmwagen was a great scout-car and had great off-road capacibilities. The Waffen SS wanted dr. Porsche to design a motorcycle with the engine of the KdF-wagen. The motorcycle must be an all terrain vehicle. When young Ferry porsche came up with the idea to make an amphibious vehicle based on the Kdf-wagen, the SS were enthousiast and the Schwimmwagen became a succes. Between 1942 and 1944 14,283 Schwimmwagens rolled of the assembly line.

Volkswagen Transporter / type 2

Dutchman Ben Pon was claimed to be the 'inventor' of the Volkswagen Transporter. He thought that people who started a company in post-war Europe could use a car with the reliability of the Beetle, but with more space to transport cargo. Pon's idea was a simple box-shaped body placed on a strengthet chassis of the Beetle. Volkswagen started the production in 1950, till 1967 1,800,000 Transporters left the assembly line. In 1967, Volkswagen introduced the new Transporter. The first Transporter was characterized by his splitted front window. The Transporter wasn't just a van, it was also used as a private car, as a camper, as an ambulance, as a house and as many more. The Transporter showed on the picture is the 'Samba' model. It featured a double coloured painting and a lot more chrome. This bus had 23 (!) windows. The other picture shows the famous sketch Ben Pon made to explain his idea about the Transporter.

Volkswagen Karmann Ghia / type 1

In 1955, Volkswagen launched the Karmann Ghia. This model, which is available in coupé and cabriolet version, is the result of the cooperation between German bodymaker Karmann, who already designed and manufactured the Beetle cabriolet, and the famous Italian designer Ghia. The Karmann Ghia features under the hood almost the same specifications as the Beetle. The Karmann Ghia was a huge succes in America. Between 1955 and 1974, Volkswagen produced 363,401 Karmann Ghias. The successor of the Karmann Ghia type 1, the Karmann Ghia type 3, flopped.

© 1999/2000 Jan-Pieter Kansen