John Reddie Posted February 25 Report Posted February 25 I have always been a fan of old cars with different unique styling and this one is certainly one of them. Thanks for any info. John R Quote
Los_Control Posted February 25 Report Posted February 25 Have to admit, I have not seen a invisible car before. Quote
John Reddie Posted February 25 Author Report Posted February 25 My mistake Los Control. The photo should be coming up. John R 1 Quote
Los_Control Posted February 25 Report Posted February 25 (edited) This is what it reminds me of .... Bugatti Type 57 ..... But we only see the rear and nothing else. It is a foreign car according to the license plate. Maybe there are others that look like a Bugatti. The louvers in the rear deck lid does not look correct but who knows? ..... This is my guess. I did watch Bad Chad for a few years and he is building one for his girlfriend from scratch. I should add, when @Plymouthy Adams checks in, I bet he knows Edited February 25 by Los_Control 1 Quote
Hickory Posted February 25 Report Posted February 25 Its a samba, and i will admit that i cheated and used Google lense Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 25 Report Posted February 25 (edited) I found a couple pics identifying it as a 1937 Volkswagon. Edited February 25 by Dave72dt 1 Quote
Los_Control Posted February 25 Report Posted February 25 Using google image search I also see the exact same photo on pinterest saying it is a 1938 Volkswagon. Here is a random photo of a 1937 Volkswagon ..... I still say the Bugatti is cooler Quote
John Reddie Posted February 25 Author Report Posted February 25 Great help guys, thank you. I wonder if any are still left. Maybe overseas?? John R Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted February 25 Report Posted February 25 won't take away from the VW origins, but for sure, there are many cars with similar features of the same era. Bugatti as mentioned and later copied by Chrysler in a prototype the Atlantic....with modern straight 8 (two fours joined front to rear) the Stout Scarab comes to mind but the Tatra....the Tatra carried this style the longest and modified it features for a long production run. And Tatra was in my humble opinion the very car Tucker tried to emulate and the reason I have never cared for Tucker coupled with the lies of production cars that did not exist but after production ventures tried to state as real....another Shelby move copied there. Quote
Solution Loren Posted February 26 Solution Report Posted February 26 The story of the VW dates back to 1925 when Dr Porsche had an idea for a "people's car". The early version had a 2 stroke engine in it as I recall and it might have been air cooled. When Hitler started building the Autobahn system it was felt the 2 stroke wasn't up to the job so they hunted around for another engine. Tatra had a flat four air cooled engine that was well proven so the Germans arranged for a license. I have actually seen a Tatra flat four and it looks like a VW on steroids! Much bigger and stronger in every way. However, the war got in the way and Volkswagen never paid Tatra. After the Soviet Union fell and Eastern Europe no longer had to deal with the Iron Curtain, Tatra sued VW for royalties on it's contract and won. VW at the time was expanding by acquiring smaller auto makers and Tatra became one of them. I have no more information than that and I would only be guessing as to this car's identity. Quote
John Reddie Posted February 26 Author Report Posted February 26 Actually all posts here were most helpful and informative.? Quote
andyd Posted February 26 Report Posted February 26 Any pre WW2 Volkswagen would be quite rare & multiple $$$$$..........the engine cover stamping is what gave the VW origins away for me........yeh, I'd actually prefer a Type 57 Bugatti tho' I do have a Type 50 DOHC Straight 8......1/8th scale unfortunately.........lol...........andyd 1 Quote
Booger Posted February 27 Report Posted February 27 Suicide doors? Um I'm no historian but I doubt that's vw. I'll take it Quote
LazyK Posted February 27 Report Posted February 27 Did anyone else notice the license plate numbers? 37001 and 37004 Quote
hi_volt Posted February 27 Report Posted February 27 (edited) On 2/25/2024 at 3:10 PM, Hickory said: Its a samba, and i will admit that i cheated and used Google lense Actually, this car was nicknamed "Kafer" since the early VW beetles were formally named KDF Wagen. KDF stands for kraft durch freude (strength through joy). Samba is the nickname for the 23 window deluxe microbus. There's a web site for us VW guys called The Samba. Edited February 27 by hi_volt Quote
hi_volt Posted February 27 Report Posted February 27 (edited) 9 hours ago, Booger said: Suicide doors? Um I'm no historian but I doubt that's vw. I'll take it Yes, it's definitely a Volkswagen. It's one of the early prototypes that were road tested by Ferdinand Porsche. Edited February 27 by hi_volt Quote
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