A short three hour train ride in Germany’s high speed train network, we arrived at the birthplace of the VW Beetle back in 1938.
Wolfsburg is the world’s largest car plant, beating out the River Rouge complex by Ford and Toyota’s mother plant. Below you can see the massive size of it all.
Factory aside, the town of 130,000 inhabitants is also home to “Autostadt” (car city) with a wide-ranging exhibit of vintage cars as well as pavilions with the latest offerings of VW’s 10 brands.
Above is a collection of design icons that changed automotive history beginning with the 1966 Renault 16 which introduced the first hatchback to the world. It is followed by arguably the most beautiful sports car ever penned ( Even Enzo Ferrari agrees) in the form of the Jaguar E Type – juxtaposed by the Oldsmobile Toronado 1966 which reflects American design sensibilities. The bottom picture pays homage to the Citroen DS which set standards for decades to come from not aesthetics and technologies.
The two hour guided tour through the factory was exceptional and gives a great overview of how every 18 seconds a new car rolls off the assembly line.
Four models are being produced here, the Golf of course as well as the SUV Tiguan and a Europe only minivan called Touran and The Spanish Seat Tarraco SUV. Above you see us in the all electric shuttle train that took is through this gigafactory.
My take is that unless you are a VW fan, your time is better spent visiting Stuttgart with the Mercedes history of the world through cars museum. I will gladly advise anyone that looking to do Germany’s car brand pilgrimage. Just hit me up.
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