Originally Posted by pj67coll

I'm aware of Ganz's developments. Also the work the Czech's were doing on rear drive Tatra's which Porsche was familiar with having worked with them as well. There's no need go go all consipracy theory on the origins of the Beetle. Numerous individuals were working on the idea. And one of the reasons Porsche left Daimler Benz at the time was that they had no interest in the kind of downmarket vehicle he was trying to create. The air cooled simplicity of the Beetle had nothing to do with North Africa or Russia. Remember the Germans only got into NA as an aside to help the Itallians who messed up. That was simply not on the horizon in 1933. The air cooled requirements were simply for reliability and cheapness. Nobody but the nobility in Europe had garages in the 1930's so air cooled cars meant they wouldn't freeze overnight in winter. And of course they were cheaper.

- Peter.