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Restoring Josef Ganz's 1933 VW Beetle forerunner

Our aim is to recreate the beetle shape of Josef Ganz's "Volkswagen" - the 1933 Standard Superior

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Restoring Josef Ganz's 1933 VW Beetle forerunner

Restoring Josef Ganz's 1933 VW Beetle forerunner

Restoring Josef Ganz's 1933 VW Beetle forerunner

Restoring Josef Ganz's 1933 VW Beetle forerunner

Restoring Josef Ganz's 1933 VW Beetle forerunner

Our aim is to recreate the beetle shape of Josef Ganz's "Volkswagen" - the 1933 Standard Superior

Our aim is to recreate the beetle shape of Josef Ganz's "Volkswagen" - the 1933 Standard Superior

Our aim is to recreate the beetle shape of Josef Ganz's "Volkswagen" - the 1933 Standard Superior

Our aim is to recreate the beetle shape of Josef Ganz's "Volkswagen" - the 1933 Standard Superior

Paul Schilperoord
Paul Schilperoord
Paul Schilperoord
Paul Schilperoord
1 Campaign |
The Hague, Netherlands
$14,931 USD $14,931 USD 70 backers
31% of $47,162 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Overview
In 1933, at the Berlin motor show, Jewish engineer Josef Ganz presented a revolutionary "Volkswagen" before Hitler. Fast forward five years: Hitler introduces the KdF Volkswagen to the German people while Ganz is erased from history. Our aim is to rebuild Ganz's original 1933 "Volkswagen" - the Standard Superior type I - and give him back his well-earned position in automotive history. We have secured the only surviving car, but we need your help to recreate its original beetle shape.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Although crowdfunding has ended at Indiegogo, our project continues and all support is still very welcome via josefganz.org.

 

Recreating a milestone in automotive history

The Volkswagen Beetle would not have existed without Josef Ganz - a Jewish engineer who masterminded its basic design. We want to bring international acclaim to his work by rebuilding his "Volkswagen" - the 1933 Standard Superior:

  • Dutch journalist & writer Paul Schilperoord met Lorenz Schmid, a Swiss-born relative of Josef Ganz, when he was researching for the biography of Josef Ganz - and together we bought the Standard Superior.
  • Our car has the only complete surviving rolling chassis of the Standard Superior type I - an estimated 250 cars were built from April to September 1933. (This model was followed by the type II with different body styling)
  • The aim of our campaign is to raise funds to recreate the original beetle-shaped bodywork for this chassis - working with professional restorers.

Our goals & ambitions

If we are successful, the restored Standard Superior will be used in future international exhibitions & events to promote the work of Josef Ganz (1898-1967):

  • In return for your support we offer some very special perks - scroll down for more information and photos - including the biography of Josef Ganz, AutoCult's new set of 1:43 "Pre-Volkswagen" models, "Psychomotor" artwork by Swiss artist Rémy Markowitsch - and a unique event at the Louwman Museum to present the car. You can even go for a ride!
  • Should we not reach our entire goal, we will restore what we can with funds raised and keep searching for additional funds to complete the project and unveil the Standard Superior at the Louwman Museum as planned.
  • Stretch goals: If we raise more funds than initially required, we will use these to create exact replicas of interior trim, chairs, missing technical parts, etc.

Our plan to recreate the original beetle shape

Our car miraculously survived as it was kept on the road in East Germany for decades. Its chassis and running gear is fully original - including the wheels and wings - but the bodywork has been largely modified using Trabant P50 parts:

  • Step 1: take the existing bodywork off the chassis and clean up or renovate original parts, such as chassis, wheels and wings.
  • Step 2: the wooden bodywork will be reconstructed by Stellmacherei Tiede - using many original photographs from the Josef Ganz archives - and their associated partners will install artificial leather covering the wooden bodywork, do the paintwork and install windows and interior trim.
  • Step 3: locate and install missing parts, such as original lights, steering wheel, dashboard switches, door handles, radiator, etc.

The Standard Superior in Volkswagen history

The Standard Superior is the embodiment of Josef Ganz's propaganda campaign "For the German Volkswagen". As editor-in-chief of Motor-Kritik magazine, he outlined the specs for this future car: low-slung, streamlined, backbone chassis, rear-mounted engine, fully independent suspension with swing axles - and a price not exceeding 1,000 Reichsmark.

Ganz initially built two prototypes: the 1930 Ardie-Ganz and 1931 Adler Maikäfer (May Bug). As a technology demonstrator, the May Bug (see video above - with Josef Ganz behind the wheel!) inspired the industry to develop radical new prototypes - including the Mercedes-Benz 120, Tatra V570, Zündapp Type 12 "Volksauto" by Ferdinand Porsche (photo below, right), and Standard Superior based on the patents of Josef Ganz (photo below, left).

At the time of its introduction at the 1933 Berlin motor show, the Standard Superior was the only 4-wheeled, rear-engined car in production. At the show, the Superior caught the eye of Hitler - and was hailed by the press:

  • "On 4 wheels runs the highlight of the exhibition [...] rear engine = the future" - Die Neue Stadt
  • "the most advanced despite its small proportions" - Motor und Sport
  • "The Standard Superior, as devised by Ganz, has proven extraordinarily successful [...] and it will in all probability lead to the introduction of larger models with rear-mounted engines." - ADAC-Motorwelt

A journalist for The Detroit News concluded: "Whatever may be the future development of this type of car in Germany, without doubt the Hitler government will be responsible for its popularization." Although Hitler would indeed popularize the "Volkswagen", even the most prophetic journalist could not have foreseen that in the process he would deliberately erase the visionary Jewish engineer Josef Ganz from history.

Risks & challenges

Our main challenges are that no technical drawings are known to exist for the Standard Superior Type I - and that we need to find a number of original parts for the car that was only produced in very limited numbers in 1933:

  • We plan to work with specialists to recreate the original shape of the bodywork based on period photographs and a surviving original Standard Superior Type II. This car has different body styling but a similar overall construction.
  • A number of the original parts we need to find are electrical parts. Standard exclusively used parts by Bosch, which already was a well-established company at the time.
  • We plan to make regular trips to specialized events for pre-WWII cars, such as the VETERAMA, to search for missing parts.

Our perks & other ways you can help

We are very grateful for any contribution, support & promotion we get for our project. Please feel free to share our campaign by using the Indiegogo share tools. Donations are most welcome and can be made by using the "BACK IT" button at the top of the page. Or select one of our unique perks:

Media attention

 

 

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Choose your Perk

Watch Ganz documentary online

Currency Conversion $20 USD
€19 EUR
You will receive a weblink to watch the new feature documentary 'Ganz - How I Lost My Beetle' - featuring our Standard Superior. The documentary will be produced in 2017/2018 by Submarine and directed by Suzanne Raes (winner of the Golden Calf award 2016 of the Netherlands Film Festival).
Included Items
  • Watch Ganz documentary online
Estimated Shipping
September 2018
5 claimed

DVD Ganz documentary

Currency Conversion $25 USD
€24 EUR
You will receive a limited edition DVD of the new feature documentary 'Ganz - How I Lost My Beetle' - featuring our Standard Superior. The documentary will be produced in 2017/2018 by Submarine and directed by Suzanne Raes (winner of the Golden Calf award 2016 of the Netherlands Film Festival).
Included Items
  • DVD Ganz documentary
Estimated Shipping
September 2018
10 out of 100 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Biography Josef Ganz (EN/NL)

Currency Conversion $30 USD
€29 EUR
You will receive the richly illustrated biography of Josef Ganz, signed by author Paul Schilperoord. Reading like a spy thriller, it tells how Ganz developed the VW at the time of Hitler's rise to power. This book is available in English ('The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz', 352 pages) or Dutch ('Het Geheim van Hitlers Volkswagen', 336 pages).
Included Items
  • Biography Josef Ganz (EN/NL)
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
4 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Louwman Museum 1 ticket

Currency Conversion $41 USD
€39 EUR
You are invited to a unique event at the Louwman Museum in The Hague (NL) to officially unveil the fully restored 1933 Standard Superior. This perk includes welcome drinks, presentation about Josef Ganz by Paul Schilperoord, access to the museum + a private tour of the new museum exhibition on VW history.
Included Items
  • Louwman Museum event 1 person
Estimated Shipping
September 2018
0 out of 100 of claimed

Screening Ganz documentary

Currency Conversion $51 USD
€49 EUR
You + 1 guest are invited to a private screening of the new feature documentary 'Ganz - How I Lost My Beetle' at cinema LAB111 in Amsterdam (NL). This perk includes welcome drinks and a meet & greet with Paul Schilperoord, Lorenz Schmid and director Suzanne Raes (winner of the Golden Calf award 2016 of the Netherlands Film Festival).
Included Items
  • Screening Ganz documentary
Estimated Shipping
September 2018
2 out of 45 of claimed

Louwman Museum 2 tickets

Currency Conversion $82 USD
€78 EUR
You + 1 guest are invited to a unique event at the Louwman Museum in The Hague (NL) to officially unveil the fully restored 1933 Standard Superior. This perk includes welcome drinks, presentation about Josef Ganz by Paul Schilperoord, access to the museum + a private tour of the new museum exhibition on VW history.
Included Items
  • Louwman Museum event 2 persons
Estimated Shipping
September 2018
1 out of 100 of claimed

AutoCult 1:43 "Swiss VW" model

Currency Conversion $88 USD
€84 EUR
You will be the first to receive AutoCult's new 1:43 scale model of the Rapid "Swiss Volkswagen" - designed by Josef Ganz in the period 1935-1939 after escaping Germany and settling in Switzerland. The first prototype of the "Swiss VW" was built on the chassis of a Standard Superior.
Included Items
  • AutoCult 1:43 "Swiss VW" model
Estimated Shipping
July 2017
14 out of 100 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

AutoCult 1:43 "pre-VW" models

Currency Conversion $313 USD
€299 EUR
You will be the first to receive AutoCult's new collectors' set of 4 unique “Pre-Volkswagen history” 1:43 scale models – the Mercedes-Benz 120 (W17), NSU Type 32, Standard Superior Type II and Tatra V570 – including a book about "Volksmotorisierung" in Germany in the 1920s and 30s.
Included Items
  • AutoCult "Pre-VW history" set
Estimated Shipping
July 2017
5 out of 100 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Go for a ride in the Standard

Currency Conversion $523 USD
€499 EUR
While attending the exclusive unveiling event at the Louwman Museum, Paul Schilperoord & Lorenz Schmid will personally drive you around in the 1933 Standard Superior! Included with this perk is a lunch for yourself + one guest with us & the museum director prior to the event at the Louwman Museum.
Included Items
  • Go for a ride in the Standard
  • Louwman Museum event 2 persons
  • Lunch at Louwman Museum
Estimated Shipping
September 2018
0 out of 10 of claimed

"Swiss VW" painting

Currency Conversion $3,983 USD
€3,800 EUR
You will receive a unique painting of Josef Ganz in the "Swiss Volkswagen" by Guatemalan/Swiss Painter Hugo Godinez Solórzano + signed biography of Josef Ganz. Oil on canvas, 95 x 70 cm, including high quality frame.
Included Items
  • Biography Josef Ganz (EN/NL)
  • "Swiss VW" painting
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 out of 1 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

"Psychomotor" artwork

Currency Conversion $5,031 USD
€4,800 EUR
You will receive artwork "Psychomotor 05" from Psychomotor series by Rémy Markowitsch. Created for exhibition 'Nudnik. Forgetting Josef Ganz', 'Wolfsburg Unlimited' in Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. Edition 2016: 3 (+ 2 artist proof). S/w print (Baryte paper), lacquered metal frame with Museum Glass, 47 x 47 cm. (courtesy Galerie EIGEN+ART Leipzig/Berlin)
Included Items
  • Psychomotor artwork
  • Biography Josef Ganz (EN/NL)
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 out of 1 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

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