After three prototypes, the first series of prototypes emerged, which would later become the Volkswagen Beetle. This car was a favorite project of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who promised Germans an 'affordable people's car'. This vehicle served as a prototype for the subsequent Volkswagen Beetle. During World War II, the prototypes were destroyed. According to the Technical Inspection Association (TÜV), which confirmed the authenticity of car number 26, there is no evidence of any other surviving chassis or frames from these cars. Therefore, the Grundmann car, which has now been rebuilt, is the oldest Volkswagen Beetle in the world. Today, the car is displayed in a specially equipped room within a collection that includes many other Volkswagen models from the 1950s. Although it didn't have many original components when its restoration began, it remains the oldest surviving Volkswagen Beetle, having endured a long journey, survived the horrors of World War II, and is now back on the road. The Beetle, owned by Traugott Grundmann, is believed to be the oldest in the world and can be seen on display in a car collector's home in the town of Hessian Oldendorf, in the German state of Lower Saxony. Grundmann regularly drives the small car with its rear, air-cooled engine of 23 horsepower. The German car inspection authority confirmed the car is safe up to a maximum speed of 100 km/h. The production of this car began in 1937 under the name Volkswagen W 30.
