Autocult - 1:43 - Volkswagen (voorlopers) - Met bijbehorend boek over de geschiedenis in 9 talen, oblong, formaat 13 x 30 + DVD over Ganz

Naast de vier modellen van de belangrijkste voorlopers in deze ontwikkeling in de auto-industrie wordt de historische achtergrond in het bij het set gevoegde boek uitvoerig belicht. Daarmee kan niet alleen de verzamelaar van modellen, maar ook eenieder die in de autogeschiedenis geïnteresseerd is voor het eerst beschikken over een allesomvattend set met daarin de voorlopers van de massamotorisering in Duitsland.

Already in the mid-1920s Béla Barényi’s early blueprints showed initial approaches. But also proven engineers like Josef Ganz, Hans Ledwinka, Hans Nibel or the aerodynamic expert Paul Jaray had their focus on the idea of motorizing the German nation and initiated the discussion about it. Four cars, which embody important steps in the development of a “car for the masses”, are the small Mercedes-Benz W17, which was only tested as a prototype, the roundish NSU Typ 32, which was driven also only experimentally in three different body versions, the Tatra Typ 570, which was masterminded by Hans Ledwinka in Bohemian Nesselsdorf, and of course the only series-produced German subcompact – the Superior built by the Swabian company Standard. As the Nazis seized power in 1933, the idea of a small car for the people became an important political target and the German automotive industry vied for the contract. The “official” story of the “people’s car”, which became known worldwide as the Volkswagen Beetle in the post-war era, began with the presentation of the “Exposé concerning the construction of a German people’s car” by Ferdinand Porsche on January 17, 1934.