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The
Volkswagen Type 3 was introduced in 1961 and here we see at least two
Notchbacks with their older siblings, the Type 1 Beetle. All new from
the factory on double deck train cars in the early 1960s
Completed
bodies - many painted in dark Cobalt Blue - move off to the Final Assembly
hall in this photo from around 1968/69
60
years ago: Volkswagen 50,000 for Finland outside the Stockmann department
store on Aleksanterinkatu in Helsinki at the end of November 1964
A
Type 2 Kombi enters the drying booth in the paint shop at the Anchieta
factory of Volkswagen do Brasil
Dipping
a bare metal bodyshell of a 'Vocho' at the Puebla plant of Volkswagen
de Mexico in 2003 during the final months of production
This
split-window Beetle bodyshell looks like it is smiling as it waits for
the painting crew to start spraying in this photo from the paint shop
at the Wolfsburg factory around 1948
MV
Bremer Banken, headed for Landskrona, Sweden, dated October 1961. This
was the first ship with Volkswagens headed for the town of Landskrona
Final
assembly at Wolfsburg. A 1962 model Beetle in Ruby Red nears completion
towards the end of the line
A
Schwimmwagen undergoing testing in the Max-Eyth-See in Stuttgart
A
casually dressed line worker on the body fitting out line at Wolfsburg
cleans the newly fitted glass before the body heads off to the final assembly
hall
Karmann
Ghia number 100 to be produced by Karmann Ghia do Brasil was produced
at their huge factory in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo,
in August 1962
A
Deutsche Bundesbahn V200-Class diesel-hydraulic locomotive heads a block
train of new Type 2 campers from the Westfalia factory in Wiedenbrück
sometime in the mid 1970s
Wolfsburg,
11 August 1970. A freshly painted green Volkswagen Type 181 on the line.
Known as Trekker (UK), Safari (Mexico) or Thing (USA)
On
the paint line, spraying the colour onto a split-window deluxe bodyshell
with sunroof at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg, 1952
"Das
Volkswagenwerk uun wir" - The Volkswagen factory and us. The debut
issue of the factory journal of the Volkswagenwerk GmbH, dated April 1942
VW
1303 roof panels emerge from huge presses that have stamped out the front
and rear window apertures in the press shop at the Wolfsburg plant
A
large consignment of North American-specification Volkswagens at an unknown
port during 1966. While most of the cars are Type 1, 2 and 3, there are
a handful of Karmann Ghia VW Type 14 and 34 models too
Completed
Volkswagens reach the end of the line in the final assembly hall at Wolfsburg
Motor Works, as the factory was known under British Army management, sometime
in 1948 or 1949
Headlamp
beam alignment check in the final assembly hall at Wolfsburg during the
1968 model year
Type
2 final assembly at the Volkswagen Transporterwerk in Hannover
New
air-cooled Volkswagens waiting for export to Canada at the German port
of Emden in 1971. The two brightly coloured Beetles painted in "Hippie
Green" and "Poplila Lilac". These were special edition
"Pop Beetles" that were produced to test the market for the
popularity of brighter colours
Driverless
Transporters move slowly and silently down the long automated conveyor
exit ramp from the final assembly hall at Volkswagenwerk Hannover
The
first final shape Kdf Wagens body were hand-produced at Reutter Stuttgart
because the Wolfsburg factory was not yet built
A
bodyshell in primer of a Karmann Ghia TC coupé (Volkswagen Type
145) is moved at the Karmann Ghia do Brasil plant in São Bernardo
do Campo in São Paulo
Fenders
and other body panels as far as the eye can see, stored in a hall at Volkswagen's
Wolfsburg plant
The
first production cars finally came off the line and shown to the press
on July 11, 1941. However, it was not series production in the true sense
as the cars were largely made by hand
Volkswagen
employees make their way along Südstraße at the Wolfsburg plant
in July 1951 with a new split-window sunroof model parked opposite Sektor
11
Kubelwagens
and Kdf wagens at Wolfsburg in winter 1943
The
100,000th Volkswagen export car, August 1952. The car was exported from
Wolfsburg to the Netherlands and allocated by VW importer Pon to the Hoogenboom
dealer group
Wet
sanding of Beetle 'Zwitter' models at Wolfsburg, taken sometime between
October 1952 and March 1953
Volkswagen
Type 34 Karmann Ghia body assembly line at Wilhelm Karmann in Osnabrück
in the 1960s
For
Volkswagen and many Wolfsburgers, the date of June 3, 1961, is one that
has gone down in history: The late, great, football legend Pelé
was a guest in the city and Wolfsburg plant and a major sporting event
was about to take place on the Mittelland Canal, made possible by the
former Volkswagenwerk GmbH
Fusca
assembly line at the Anchieta factory of Volkswagen do Brasil, around
1975. The car in the photo is a 1300 version painted in Amarelo Safari
(Safari Yellow)
Engine
assembly line in Hall 4 of Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg on 26 May 1959
Volkswagen
number 100,000 for the USA leaves final assembly Hall 12 on the automated
conveyor ramp at the rear (north side) of the Wolfsburg plant in June
1957
Volkswagen
Inspectors examine a Type 3 VW 1600 Fastback bodyshell fresh from the
paint line at the Wolfsburg plant
Here
we see the most critical process of the build, the joining of the completed
oval-window body to the completed chassis and drivetrain, known as the
Hochzeit (wedding, or marriage)
An
early ambulance of the fire department at the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg
around 1946 or 1947
Karmann
plant final painting area
Pumping
a few litres of fuel into the tank on a newly completed Volkswagen at
the end of the line in the final assembly hall at Wolfsburg in the summer
of 1953. The car can now be driven for the first time to the test stand
for final checks
Bodies-in-white
move through a hall at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg sometime between April
1954 and 1 August 1955
Volkswagen
Karmann Ghia bodies at the Wilhelm Karmann factory in Osnabrück in
the late 1950s
New
Volkswagens from Puebla embark a roll-on roll-off ship at Veracruz, Mexico,
bound for Emden, Germany, around 1979/80. The huge banner reads, "Volkswagen
de Mexico continues with its vehicle export programme to Europe"
Line
workers deburring and grinding the bare metal bodyshell of a VW Type 3
Variant at the Wolfsburg plant prior to dipping and painting
Body
fitting out and trim lines at the Wolfsburg plant in 1964. What we see
here are two lines dedicated to models destined for the US market. Note
that the car in the foreground on the belt has a UN export code in the
windshield, meaning United States, New York. All the cars have 'towel
rail' bumper overriders and headlamps ready to receive sealed beam units
at the selling dealer
A
period postcard from the late 1950s showing scenes of the 'Volkswagen
city'. At the top left is a photo of the VW factory on the Mittelland
Canal and centre-right is the VW-Bad (swimming pool) which was gifted
to the city by Volkswagen in 1951
Lines
of new split-window Volkswagens sparkle in the sunshine as they await
onward shipment in the new vehicle holding yard at the western end of
Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg in 1951
North-American
specification 1972 model year Beetles at an unknown holding yard awaiting
onward transit and delivery to lucky customers
Fusca
assembly lines at the Anchieta plant of Volkswagen do Brasil in the city
of São Bernardo do campo, SP, sometime between 1965 and 1967
Quinto
Provenziani (on the right in the first photo) wet sanding the primer coat
on a Beetle bodyshell with two of his colleagues at the Volkswagen plant
in Wolfsburg. He was one of the first batch of 'guest worker' employees
from Italy arriving in early 1962 at the invitation of VW for a new life
in Germany. 62 years on, and at the age of 82, Quinto is long retired,
but still lives in Wolfsburg with his German wife Monica and has children
and grandchildren
The
first batch of Volkswagens to be imported into Canada are pictured at
the port of Toronto in Ontario on 2 December 1952
An
interesting 'hybrid' parked just off Südstrasse at the front of VW-Werk
Wolfsburg in 1971
A
large consignment of VW Type 1, 2 and 3 models arrived by train are lifted
onto waiting ships for export in the early 1960s
Beetles
move slowly along the final assembly line in Hall 12 at Volkswagenwerk
Wolfsburg
Barndoor
buses: Type 2 Combi and pickup trucks in the final assembly hall at Volkswagenwerk
Wolfsburg sometime between 1953 and 1955
70
years ago - Oval-window Type 1 bodyshells at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg
in 1954. Note the chassis platforms being transported on the chain conveyor
in the background for transfer onto the assembly belts in the foreground
Type
3 assembly at the VW plant in Palma Sola Venezuela
21st
century Vocho production at the Puebla plant of Volkswagen de Mexico on
June 13. 2001
A
Volkswagen Inspector checking front lids at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg.
The large team of Inspectors at the factory were independent of all other
departments in the plant
Rows
of new split-window Beetles in the new vehicle holding yard on the west
side of the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, about 1951
Completed
bodies are lowered onto their chassis platforms for the Hochzeit where
all the pieces of the jigsaw come together to form a complete car for
the first time.
A
worker in the final assembly hall at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg, guiding
the body shell down onto the chassis for the critical joining operation,
the Hochzeit or Wedding, very late 1950s
A
barndoor bus is lifted on board. Hamburg, October 1951
Karmann
Ghia production at Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, Osnabruck: Type 14 and Type 34
Type
3 Variant assembly line at Wolfsburg
1974
model year Beetle and Type 181 VW Safari/Thing assembly at Volkswagen
de Mexico's plant in Puebla
New VW Type 147 'Fridolin' delivery vans near the high-rise administration building at VW-Werk Wolfsburg
Red,
white and blue 1971 model year 1302 Super Beetle bodies fresh from the
paint line are transported by overhead chain conveyors to the body fitting
out hall at Volkswagenwerk Emden
The
Netherlands first Volkswagen importer Ben Pon loaded a Beetle aboard the
Holland America ship Westerdam at the port of Rotterdam on January 8,
1949 for export to the United States
Volkswagen
assembly lines at the Auto Union factory in Ingolstadt. The Beetle was
assembled here from 1965 to 1969
All images courtesy of Volkswagen Factory Pictures Facebook Group
