Maikäfer
Encyclopedia
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
, built in 1931 by German engineer Josef Ganz
Josef Ganz
Dipl.-Ing. Josef Ganz was a German-Hungarian car designer, born in Budapest, Hungary.-Early years:Josef Ganz was born in a Jewish family with a Hungarian mother and a German father in Budapest, the then second-largest city within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on July 1, 1898. His father, Dr...
at Adler
Adler (automobile)
Adler was a German automobile and motorcycle manufacturer from 1900 until 1957. Adler is German for eagle.-History:The Adler factory produced bicycles, typewriters, and motorcycles in addition to cars...
.
History
Josef Ganz, an independent engineer and editor-in-chief of Motor-KritikMotor-Kritik
Motor-Kritik was the title of a progressive automotive magazine, published by the H.Bechhold Verlagsbuchhandlung in Germany from 1929 to 1945. It originated from the earlier Klein-Motor-Sport magazine.-History:...
magazine, was assigned by Adler in December 1930 as a consultant engineer. In the first months of 1931, Ganz constructed a lightweight Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
prototype at Adler with a tubular chassis, a mid-mounted engine, and swing axle
Swing axle
A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension first used in early aircraft , such as the Sopwith and Fokker, usually with rubber bungee and no damping....
independent rear suspension
Independent suspension
Independent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
. After completion in May 1931, Ganz nicknamed his new prototype Maikäfer (German for cockchafer
Cockchafer
The cockchafer is a European beetle of the genus Melolontha, in the family Scarabaeidae....
).
After a shift in management, further development of the Maikäfer was stopped towards the end of 1931 and Adler concentrated on new car models with front-wheel drive. Josef Ganz was allowed to keep the Maikäfer prototype and kept on using it as his personal car and demonstration model for his patented Volkswagen design until around 1950.
The Maikäfer today
In the 1990s, the original Maikäfer prototype was discovered in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
by a German collector and restored to its original condition.
The Volkswagen Beetle connection
With the Ardie-GanzArdie-Ganz
Ardie-Ganz was the name of an automobile prototype, built in 1930 by German engineer Josef Ganz at the German motorcycle manufacturer Ardie.-History:...
, Adler Maikäfer and Standard Superior
Standard Superior
Standard Superior was an automobile marque, used from 1933-1935 by Standard Fahrzeugfabrik of Ludwigsburg, Germany, founded by motorcycle maker Wilhelm Gutbrod and unrelated to the Standard Motor Company of England...
cars, as well as his progressive writings and promotion of the concept of a Volkswagen in Motor-Kritik
Motor-Kritik
Motor-Kritik was the title of a progressive automotive magazine, published by the H.Bechhold Verlagsbuchhandlung in Germany from 1929 to 1945. It originated from the earlier Klein-Motor-Sport magazine.-History:...
magazine since the 1920s, Josef Ganz is claimed by some to be the inspiration behind the Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
. But he could not build the car in Hitler's Germany, because he was Jewish. So Ferdinand Porsche, a designer much admired by Hitler, got to connect his name to the "People's Car" (Volkswagen) the regime needed to appease the masses.