Many people think that Ferdinand Porsche was the man behind the Beetle, but this is incorrect. Engineer and inventor Bela Barenyi came up with the design five years before Ferdinand Porsche presented his initial insect-inspired sketch. For Ferdinand Porsche’s Beetle guise, Adolf Hitler gave Porsche an order to develop a Volkswagen (People’s Car), which could transport two adults and three children at 60mph and cost no more than a motorbike.
Matthew Macconnell is a journalist who specializes in automotive writing. He writes for publications such as Cigalah Group, Autocar Business, and Van Fleet World, covering topics ranging from unique cars to fleet monitoring solutions. His work has also appeared in The Edinburgh Reporter and Commercial Motor.