Thursday 22nd October 1936

The first test-drives of the Volkswagen vehicle began, and employees drove the VW 3-series model over 800 kilometers a day, making any necessary repairs at night. After three months of vigorous testing, Porsche and his engineers concluded, in their final test verdict, that the Volkswagen “demonstrated characteristics which warrant further development.” In 1938, the first Volkswagen in its final form was unveiled, a 38-series model that The New York Times mockingly referred to as a “Beetle”. The ‘Beetle’ would serve as an instrument of Nazi propaganda to help a shattered nation’s economic recovery and would later be a symbol of 1960s counter-culture.