Porsche’s Technological Innovations Part 2: Type 64, the Volkswagen That Gave Birth to Porsche in 1939

Looking at the 1939 Type 64 today, the connection to Porsche is immediate: simple, clean, with extreme aerodynamics, one wouldn’t imagine it could be a Volkswagen in “sports attire”. The people's car, personally commissioned by Adolf Hitler, had already been adapted for military use, even as an amphibious vehicle, but no one could have foreseen that this robust vehicle, built for maximum simplicity, could also take on the form of an advanced sports car.

The 1939 Type 64 with an aerodynamic body developed by Ferdinand Porsche, designed to compete in the Berlin-Rome Raid.

We mention it at the beginning of our story to show how technology, in the broadest sense, helped create the Porsche legend. We mention it because the Volkswagen project was born from the engineering and design studio of Ferdinand Porsche, a studio already renowned — just think of the winning Auto Union Grand Prix project, with its rear-mounted 16-cylinder engine. This was a studio where, in those years, Ferdinand’s young son Ferry was already working, alongside the Austrian design genius Erwin Komenda. The Type 64 was conceived and developed for a specific purpose: to participate in the Berlin–Rome Raid as a symbol of friendship between the two nations. Its foundation was nothing more than a Volkswagen chassis with a modestly powered engine: just 33 hp from the 1131cc motor, reaching a speed of 110 km/h. How could a car achieve the necessary speed for such a raid if not through aerodynamics and lightness?

The Type 64 was built in three examples and is the car that gave birth to the Porsche legend.

Komenda transformed the rustic Beetle into a sleek water droplet. The work didn’t stop there: an aluminum body and plastic windows reduced its weight to around 600 kilograms. The result? A top speed exceeding 140 km/h and the performance of a true sports car. Due to the imminent war, the race never took place, and the Type 64 never competed, but Ferdinand Porsche kept the car for himself and, together with his enthusiastic son Ferry, appreciated its true potential.

The shape of the Type 64 is easily recognizable as the foundation of the Gmünd 356 coupé, which would follow a decade later.

It would take until 1948 for the Porsche name to become an official brand when, from an abandoned sawmill in Carinthia, the first 356 “Number One” bearing the Porsche badge was born. Knowing the Type 64, it’s easy to trace its origins and understand how quickly the German sports car gained success. A sports car, let’s not forget, that was also born with the Beetle’s small four-cylinder boxer engine. And to understand how legitimate the Porsche name is on the cars that, after leaving Austria, would be built in Stuttgart, one must remember that the concept of an air-cooled, four-cylinder opposed engine — robust and lightweight — was first envisioned and designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1912 for aviation. As they say, great ideas are timeless.

In 1948, the first car with the Porsche badge was born: the 356 “Number One,” clearly inspired by the Type 64.