This may be the most recognizable car ever made.  Maybe only the Jeep can compete?  It saw limited production during the war years.

After the jump, a true classic.

In 1934 Adolf Hitler ordered Ferdinand Porsche to design an affordable “People’s Car”, literally, “Volkswagen”.  The type had entered only limited production before WWII, and several hundred were built as staff cars.  More common during the war years was the utilitarian Type 82 “Kubelwagen” built with the same chassis and engine.

But a number of the Type 82Es did make into service.  The example shown here is from the Tamiya kit.

Personal anecdote, my very first car was a Beetle.  A 1972 green Super Beetle, with 150000 miles when I bought it.  I added about 20000 miles before I totaled it in 1984.  I was lucky, because 1972 was before seatbelts were available.  Some other fun bits; the turn signal didn’t cancel (by design), pressure for the windshield wiper fluid came from the spare tire, and it hadn’t had working heat since long before I bought it (a common failing on the car).  Visually, it looked a lot like the 1944 model seen here.  The rear end had more obvious differences than the front; the tail lights and rear window had been enlarged, and the window was a single piece unit.  The front end received some tweaks (curved windshield, larger turn signals) in 1973.

Up Next: Nakajima B5N2 “Kate”