Volkswagen's Iroc Concept: Reviving the Scirocco to Target A Niche Market

The history of Volkswagen (which means “peoples's car”) can be traced to the 1930s, when Adolf Hitler approached Ferdinand Porsche, a reputed automobile engineer and designer, to design an affordable car for the common man, which could seat two adults and three children. In 1936, the first prototype of the car called the KdF-Wagen,⁹ was designed in Stuttgart, Germany. This prototype was similar to what came to be known as the Beetle in later years. In 1938, construction work began on a production plant at Wolfsburg, Germany.

During World War II, the company's focus shifted to the production of military vehicles (Type 81 Kübelwagen and the Schwimmwagen).

But finding a owner for the factory became difficult as representatives from the British, American, and French motor industries refused to take control of the company. While some felt that the cars produced by the company were “outdated”, “too ugly” and “too noisy”, others were dissuaded by the town's close proximity to East Germany. Thus, the factory came under a trust controlled by the West German government.

In 1948, Heinrich Nordhoff (Nordhoff), a former senior manager at Adam Opel GmbH¹¹ (Opel), was recruited to run the factory. Under Nordoff, a number of commercial Type 2 vehicles such as vans and pickups were launched...