Khaberni - Although not much of its original components remained when its restoration started, it is still the oldest Volkswagen Beetle car still in existence after having undergone an extremely long journey and having survived the horrors of World War II.
It is believed that the Beetle owned by Traugott Grundmann is the oldest in the world, and can be seen displayed at the car collector's home in Hessisch Oldendorf, Lower Saxony, Germany.
Grundmann regularly drives the small car with its 23 horsepower air-cooled rear engine. He was joined by the writer of this topic on a road trip.
Grundmann says "This is driving at its finest, a return to the basics, so to speak," adding while we speed up - "and it's noisy."
From her side, the German Car Testing Authority (TÜV) confirmed that the car is safe up to a maximum speed of 100 km/h, but Grundmann admits that driving becomes somewhat difficult when exceeding 80 km/h.
Grundmann, who is one of the enthusiasts of one of the world’s most famous small cars, says it’s tight inside: "People were shorter back in the day". This means that anyone who is over 1.8 meters tall would find it difficult to extend his legs under the steering wheel. Grundmann is still able to do this, although he has to bend down to see beyond the windshield.
The manufacturing of this car began in 1937 under the name Volkswagen Type 30. After three models, the first series of prototypes appeared for what would later become the Volkswagen Beetle.
An automotive expert from TUV NORD says, "These thirty test cars were made for Ferdinand Porsche (founder of the German car manufacturing company Porsche) for extensive driving testing, and are considered the direct predecessor generation to the later Volkswagen Beetle."
The Beetle was a favored project of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who promised Germans an "affordable people's car". The "Type 30", so to speak, served as a test model for the subsequent Volkswagen Beetle.
During World War II, the prototypes were destroyed, as shown by the pictures displayed by Grundmann in his exhibition. They "just needed the materials". The model that bore number 26 had traveled approximately 56,000 kilometers by that time.
According to the Technical Inspection Association (T.U.V.), which confirmed the authenticity of car number 26, there is no evidence of any other remaining bodies or frames from these cars, thus Grundmann’s now rebuilt car is the oldest Volkswagen Beetle in the world.
At the outset of the 1970s at the latest, the body of car number 26 was found in Gmünd in Carinthia, Austria, lying under another vehicle called "Kübelwagen", a type of open military Beetle cars.
After passing through the hands of classic car collectors, it eventually ended up in Austria among classic car collectors. In 2003, it was replaced by Grundmann with a 'Schwimmwagen', a type of amphibious Volkswagen Beetle.
In Hessisch Oldendorf, the body was initially "mounted on the wall," as Grundmann said. He did not really think it could be rebuilt. Nevertheless, the restoration of a 1938 Volkswagen Beetle, which was in much better shape, gave him the courage to proceed. Initially, the body was completely rebuilt, followed by subsequent events.
Today, the type 30 car is displayed alongside a 1938 Beetle in a specially equipped room within Grundmann’s collection, which includes several other Volkswagen models from the 1950s. Grundmann also wrote a book about restoring the type 30 car, which can be found in the wooden-paneled garage alongside many original photos and documents.
