In the early 1930s, most cars manufactured in Germany were luxury vehicles, with prices out of reach for most of the population. For this reason, Adolf Hitler – himself an automobile enthusiast – decided it was time to create a “people's car”: an affordable vehicle capable of transporting 2 adults and 3 children and reaching 100km/h.
Once the requirements were defined, Hitler chose to hand over the project to Ferdinand Porsche, already at that time an engineer with a proven track record in the automotive world. In 1934, a contract was signed between the National Association of the German Automobile Industry and Ferdinand Porsche for the development of the Volkswagen that would put the German people “on wheels”.
At the time, Hitler had relations with the Austrian Hans Ledwinka, design director of Tatra, a car manufacturer originally from Czechoslovakia. Surrendered to the brand's models, the German leader introduced Ledwinka to Ferdinand Porsche and the two discussed ideas over and over again.
Volkswagen Beetle
In 1936, Tatra launches the T97 (pictured below) a model based on the V570 prototype launched in 1931, with a 1.8 liter rear engine with boxer architecture and simplistic appearance, designed by… Hans Ledwinka. Two years later Volkswagen launches the famous Beetle, designed by…. Ferdinand Porsche! With many of the T97's key features, from design to mechanics. Given the similarities, Tatra sued Volkswagen, but with the German invasions of Czechoslovakia the process was void and Tatra was forced to finish production of the T97.
After World War II, Tatra reopened the lawsuit brought against Volkswagen for breaking its patents. With no great alternatives, the German brand was forced to pay 3 million Deutschmarks, an amount that left Volkswagen without great resources for the development of the Carocha. Later, Ferdinand Porsche himself admitted that "sometimes he looked over his shoulder, other times he did the same", referring to Hans Ledwinka.
The rest is history. The Volkswagen Carocha would become a cult object in the following decades and one of the best-selling cars ever, with more than 21 million units produced between 1938 and 2003. Interesting, isn't it?
Tatra V570:
