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After 80 years, Volkswagen has announced that they are officially squashing the iconic Beetle car in 2019.
The Beetle was originally commissioned in the 1930s by Adolf Hitler as the ‘people’s car’ (or volks wagen in German).
Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, the curvy car was affordable, practical and reliable. Eight decades later, the ‘bug’ (as it is affectionately known) has been snapped up by 21,529,464 customers, making it the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single platform ever made.
Germany stopped producing Beetles in the late 1970s, but in 1998 Volkswagen rolled out the New Beetle, which was meant to be a visual flashback to the original Type 1 design but was essentially a VW Golf.
Another variation was introduced in 2012, but sales have been steadily declining — down to around 15,000 last year from some 43,000 in 2013 — so the decision has been made to axe it.
To pay tribute to the car that helped make Volkswagen the world’s largest automaker, VW will release two last models, the Final Edition SE and the Final Edition SEL.
Final Edition models are distinguished by special paint colours — Safari Uni (basically beige) or Stonewashed Blue — inspired by the Última Edición (last edition) versions of the original Beetle from 2003. VW is also offering Pure White, Deep Black Pearl, and Platinum Grey as alternative options.
Other changes include 17-inch aluminium alloy wheels for the SE trim level, and 18-inch alloy wheels with a multicolour design meant to reference the Última Edición’s combination of steel wheels, hubcaps, and whitewall tyres. Final Editions get model-specific upholstery as well — cloth and leatherette with diamond pleats for the SE, real leather for the SEL.
They get the same powertrain as other Beetle models, meaning a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 174 horsepower. That power is sent to the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.
Recently consumers appear to have increasingly turned to larger cars such as crossovers and sports utility vehicles.
Volkswagen, in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal and huge investment in electric vehicles, says it will look to slim down its model range with a greater focus on family and electric cars.
“The loss of the Beetle after three generations, over nearly seven decades, will evoke a host of emotions from the Beetle’s many devoted fans,” said Hinrich Woebcken, chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America.
Hitler originally commissioned the car in order for a cheap and practical mass-produced car to be made available to the German people and to work on the country’s new road network.
But the outbreak of war would stall its production, as military necessity took precedence. The plant was severely damaged, then fell into the hands of Allied Forces, who were eventually to play a large part in its recommissioning.
Production began to take off in the late 1940s, and by 1955 a million of the cars were driving on German roads. The design would find international fame in the 1960s and ‘1970s in films featuring Herbie the Love Bug, a racing car with a mind of its own.
It was also popular with the 1960s counter-culture types who extolled the Beetle’s small, practical, but aesthetic qualities.
In fact, GulfWeekly’s Editor Stan Szecowka’s first car was a sky blue Beetle, also called Herbie. He bought it for BD45 second-hand, complete with a wobbly rear wheel and a 6V battery.
It has not yet been announced when the final Beetles will be flying in to the kingdom, but the current 2018 model is available from the Behbehani Brothers showroom in Sitra for the starting price of BD11,000.
