Phil Mathews, Editor of Club VeeDub Sydney Magazine, joins Michael on the anniversary of the Volkswagen automobile being launched in Germany 85 years ago.

On Wednesday 26th February 1936, Adolf Hitler opened the first manufacturing plant of Germany’s “peoples car” – the Volkswagen in Saxony in the country’s east.

Designed by Ferdinand Porsche of Auto Union fame, the later named “Beetle”, whose features included a streamlined body, an air-cooled flat four 23.5 hp, four-stroke engine mounted at the rear, and torsion bar sprung.

The Beetle was intended for mass production at popular prices and capable of smooth running at 60 mph on German autobahns that were under construction.

Hitler’s idea was to put the nation on wheels, doing for Germany what Henry Ford did for the US.

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