Air Cooled Addiction

Rare Pre-War Prototype Found in Lithuania.

Thursday May 7, 2009

A truly amazing discovery is taking the air-cooled world by storm.

Late in 2008, a very peculiar vehicle was discovered among the weeds in the Lithuania countryside. To the untrained observer, this appeared to be just another abandoned VW Beetle. However, the person making the discovery noticed some strange differences between this car and your average Bug.

First he noticed the decklid corners were squared off. All VWs since the KdF-wagens have had rounded corners. Also, the decklid stampings and bracing show features only found on the pre-KdF prototypes. These features, along with the original metalwork on the doors, confirm the vehicle's identity as a VW 38 prototype.

Rare VW 38 prototype as found in Lithuania. (photo courtesy TheSamba.com user Undis)

The VW 38 was a series of Beetle prototypes built in 1938 by Ferdinand Porsche. The development was ordered by Adolf Hitler to provide a low cost vehicle for the German public. It featured a 985cc horizontally-opposed air cooled engine. The VW 38s appeared at the cornerstone ceremony for the Volkswagen factory on May 26, 1938. Many of these original vehicles were scrapped for parts, destroyed in Allied bombings or pillaged by Allied forces after the war.

The strangest thing about this car, however, appears to be the heavy modifications it has gone through in it's 70 years. The body has been shaped to fit on a Russian front-engine Volga chassis and the windshield frame has been cut and welded to fit a more "modern" curved windshield. Other mods include removal of the semaphore turn signals, covering of engine cooling vents and fitting of non-original door handles.

The car was recently acquired by KdF-wagen enthusiast, Christian Grundmann, for an undisclosed amount. It has since been returned to Germany and is undergoing a complete reconstruction to bring it back to it's original glory. Due to the nature of this vehicle, most parts will have to be fabricated by hand, just as when it was first built.

Air Cooled addiction will be following the story of this most amazing find. For more pictures, updates and discussion please visit this thread, courtesy of theSamba.com.