Rapid Swiss Volkswagen - 1946
This unique unrestored car was manufactured by Rapid A.G. of Dietikon, Zurich, Switzerland in 1946. Jozef Ganz built the car using numerous ideas and designs he had patented for a Volkswagen, or People’s car.
Ideas about a car for the people had been advocated since the early 1920s by a Jewish engineer named Jozef Ganz (1898-1967). As editor-in-chief of the German Motor-Kritik magazine he was able to publicize his plans for an affordable yet safe car that the masses could afford. In 1931, when working for Adler, he built a prototype, which he nicknamed the Maikäfer (May beetle), a vehicle with a backbone chassis and swing arm suspension, items that would later feature on the Volkswagen Beetle. In 1934, shortly after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Ganz was banned from running his own Motor Kritik magazine and was ultimately boycotted altogether. His name was all but obliterated.
When Hitler ordered Ferdinand Porsche to design a People’s car, he was in fact using Ganz’s idea’s. Jozef Ganz escaped to Switzerland where in 1946 he was able, with state funding, start the Swiss People’s car project. The car displayed here is car n° 11 of the pre-production run of 37 built at the Rapid works. The project came to a standstill before entering the manufacturing stage.
1 Cylinder
35 ex.
Louwman Museum
Den Haag - The Hague
Nederland - Netherlands
August 2017
Rapid Swiss Volkswagen - 1946
This unique unrestored car was manufactured by Rapid A.G. of Dietikon, Zurich, Switzerland in 1946. Jozef Ganz built the car using numerous ideas and designs he had patented for a Volkswagen, or People’s car.
Ideas about a car for the people had been advocated since the early 1920s by a Jewish engineer named Jozef Ganz (1898-1967). As editor-in-chief of the German Motor-Kritik magazine he was able to publicize his plans for an affordable yet safe car that the masses could afford. In 1931, when working for Adler, he built a prototype, which he nicknamed the Maikäfer (May beetle), a vehicle with a backbone chassis and swing arm suspension, items that would later feature on the Volkswagen Beetle. In 1934, shortly after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Ganz was banned from running his own Motor Kritik magazine and was ultimately boycotted altogether. His name was all but obliterated.
When Hitler ordered Ferdinand Porsche to design a People’s car, he was in fact using Ganz’s idea’s. Jozef Ganz escaped to Switzerland where in 1946 he was able, with state funding, start the Swiss People’s car project. The car displayed here is car n° 11 of the pre-production run of 37 built at the Rapid works. The project came to a standstill before entering the manufacturing stage.
1 Cylinder
35 ex.
Louwman Museum
Den Haag - The Hague
Nederland - Netherlands
August 2017