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1936 - January - Porsche takes Hitler for a test ride in the Type 60. Porsche advises Hitler that production costs are not meeting the target Hitler has set. Porsche's straight forward, no-nonsense style had gained Hitler’s respect and trust. Hitler was also fond of perfection and Porsche was known for this---the fine tolerances he insisted on, his attention to detail, and intolerance for sub par craftsmanship were legendary in his own time. Hitler knew all this. His subsequent reply to Porsche is that the car will be made for 990 RM no matter what it took. If necessary, compulsory price reductions in raw material costs would be implemented. Hitler had a will of steel to a fault regardless of the path he chose. 

     Following another presentation of the Type 60 in Obersalzberg in July of 1936, Hitler commits to manufacturing the car but not with any existing German car maker. For the most part, the “luxury crew” of manufacturers are very pleased with this news as they prefer the problems of this unappealing compact with a ridiculous price point not be theirs. Hitler decides a new factory will be built. One that is exclusively dedicated to producing the Type 60. To help finance the car, the government has established an individual savings plan that Germans are, in order to buy the car, required to pay into. Some pay in but the plan inevitably fails. To get on with it, the German government---Hitler---steps in to subsidize the program.

     As directed by Hitler, the company behind Porsche’s car is the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens GmbH - “Company for the Production of the Volkswagen.” Established the 28th of May, 1937, in Berlin, the business is managed by the German Labor Front. Construction of the manufacturing plant in Wolfsberg begins in May of 1938. Hitler is there at the laying of the cornerstone. In September, the company’s name is shortened to Volkswagenwerk GmbH. “Volkswagen,” as we know it today, is born. The factory, specifically created to build Porsche’s Type 60, is opened on the 26th of May, 1938. To demonstrate what Hitler thought of Porsche, Hitler suggested to Porsche the Volkswagen factory be named after Porsche. Coming from the man across the table, it was of course worth a pause to consider. For whatever private reasons Porsche held, he declined the offer suggesting to Hitler it be named for what it was, the “Wolfsberg Volkswagen Factory.”  And so it was. Porsche moves to Wolfsberg to attend his contracted responsibilities concerning factory management and production oversight of the Type 60. When he does this, his son Ferry assumes authority for the Porsche consulting office in Stuttgart.

     Within the Porsche consulting team, Erwin Komenda is the chief body designer and so the one that might actually be most credited for the Type 60’s quirky look. That said, there were any number of individuals providing design ideas for the car. Even Hitler made some sketches. Some openly opposed Porsche’s authorship for the car. Bela Barenyi, Josef Ganz, and Tatra the car company being among the known discontents with Porsche taking/getting the credit.

    Barenyi is a Hungarian automotive engineer who is, like Porsche, Ganz, and Ledwinka at Tatra, small-car focused. In 1953, years after the fact, Barenyi took his case to court where he was able to prove the designs of Porsche’s Type 60 infringed on his earlier drawings and patents. Barényi won the claim and was subsequently legally credited with being the first to conceive the basic design for the Beetle. More, Barényi later sued Volkswagen in 1955 for copyright infringement. Once again, his ‘contribution’*  to the Beetle's design was formally recognized by the court. What financial compensation Barényi received, if any, is unknown. Legal wrangling aside, Barényi is widely accepted as the father of passive safety given his several crash protection inventions. His crumple zone design being the most notable. He held over 2,000 patents—twice as many as Thomas Edison.

* Exactly what ‘contribution’ means is subject to the standards of legal jargon.

Joseph Ganz was also an automotive engineer who wanted credit for the Beetle. Prior to his editorial days with Klein-Motor-Sport publication (where he used the magazine to hack away at Germany’s large, luxury car makers and to promote his own vision of small-car benefits) he was employed by Daimler. There, he met and supervised Porsche. Like Porsche, Ganz favored compact, lightweight cars. In 1929, Ganz was hired by German manufacturers Zündapp, Ardie and DKW to create a “small, people's car.” In 1931, the outcome was the Ardie-Ganz, nicknamed the“Maikäfer,” --- "May-Beetle.’"  This car was presented at the 1933 Berlin Auto Show where Hitler took an interest in it. Soon after the Auto Show, Ganz was arrested by the Gestapo, supposedly on charges of blackmail against the German auto industry. It's possible his editorial days had caught up with him. Or the charges could easily have been trumped. Later released, he fled Germany in 1934. One month after Ganz was arrested is when Hitler made contact with Porsche. Later in his life, Ganz authored a book to promote his VW Beetle authorship. He is not on record for having filed any legal action supporting his assertions.

     Tatra, the car company, claimed infringement concerning the VW design and sued Porsche for damages. Porsche offered to settle with Tatra but Hitler put a stop to it. Hitler said, “I will settle the matter.” Tatra later dropped their claim. Years later, Tatra sued Volkswagen for patent infringement. Volkswagon settled this claim out of court in 1965 paying the Ringhoffer family 1,000,000 DM.

     Whether Porsche intentionally, or otherwise, used any design aspect from others for his Type 60---the VW Beetle---is not a conclusion that’s sought here. Rather, this part of Porsche’s life is considered to demonstrate the tightrope he & company had to walk—creatively—within the automotive industry. Every idea had to be rigorously checked to see if anyone or company held a patent or copyright on it. If so, there were determinations of whether there was or was not infringement being made. The problem with this process is there always being a grey area which defies always arriving at a clear conclusion. Bottom line, it is not as simple as it might appear to design anything for commercial purposes. Given is the fact that engineers—any creative individual for that matter—then and now, looks at the work of others in order to know what’s going on in the marketplace. And for inspiration. Porsche said it himself concerning the dispute with Tatra in regard to their designer and someone he knew, Ledwinka; "Well, sometimes Ledwinka looked over my shoulder and sometimes I looked over his.” In the end, Porsche---not someone easily taken over---and his family received a royalty on every Beetle produced/sold.

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1939 - WW2 begins. Racing halts. The Volkswagen plant in Wolfsberg has been in existence for little over a year. Progress on the mass production of Beetles for civilian use is stopped. When it does, only a limited number of units have been made. Some accounts say only 200 have been made. Other accounts have the number at 500+. In any case, these first VW’s are distributed for the personal use of German officers.

     By default, the priority of many German factories shifts to war-related goods, the Volkswagen plant included. Porsche & company likewise become dedicated to designing & engineering vehicles and aircraft that support the Germany war machine.