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A completed 1303 drives off the line in 1973 at Werk Wolfsburg. Behind it can be seen a 1303 special edition 'Sports Bug' in Marathon Blue metallic (L96M) headed for the US market and a 'Fruit series edition' Bijzondere Kever in Tomato Red (L30M) headed for the Netherlands

A long line of 1303 Super Beetles which look to have just been painted

Some of the very first VW 1303 Super Beetles on the assembly line at Wolfsburg in November 1972

50th anniversary - 7 June 1973. Volkswagen Brussels produces its 1 millionth Beetle

1971 model year Beetle bodyshells, including 1302 models, are fitted out at the Wolfsburg plant before moving on to final assembly

1303 Cabriolet Super Beetle body assembly line at Karmann in Osnabrück. A total of 331,847 Beetle Cabriolets were produced at this factory during the model’s thirty years and six months production life from July 1949 to January 1980

An assembly line worker proves that you can take a break in a Super Beetle trunk

Volkswagen employees take a break for a photo shoot while working on the Beetle assembly line

A Volkswagen employee on the Beetle assembly line in Wolfsburg in the 1972 model year. The VW is a 1302 Super Beetle

A line worker is distracted by the photographer while fitting out a Pastel White 1302 Beetle in the body fitting out hall at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg during the 1972 model year

Installing the headlamps on a VW 1303 on the line at Wolfsburg during the 1974 model year

A colourful selection of cars at Wolfsburg in 1972, awaiting export to North America

VW 1303 assembly in the final production hall at the Wolfsburg factory in 1973. These cars appear to be European-specification painted in either Phoenix Red or Kasan Red

Fitting the interior vinyl trim on the B-pillar area of a 1971 model year Beetle in the body fitting-out stage at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg

The start of 1302 Super Beetle production at Wolfsburg. With its new front suspension and improved luggage capacity, a new era for the Beetle had begun

A freshly painted green Volkswagen Type 181 is closely followed by the new 1971 Super Beetle 1302

Beetle number 14,000,000 was produced at Wolfsburg on May 5th 1971. The Silver Metallic (L96D) 1600cc right-hand drive 1302S model was destined for Great Britain and was handed over to legendary Major Ivan Hirst at the end of the assembly line in Hall 12

New Volkswagens are pictured arriving at the Port of Albany, New York, aboard a car carrying ship belonging to Norwegian company Höegh-Ugland Auto Liners in 1974

A Trailer Train of the Norfolk and Western Railway is seen in Albany, New York, full of newly imported Sun Bug Edition Beetles from Germany, sometime in 1974

1303 Super Beetle Cabriolet final assembly at Karosserie Wilhelm Karmann in Osnabrück, West Germany, in the late 1970s. The cars in the photo are North American specification, headed for the USA and Canada

A 1302S Super Beetle chassis with fitted engine and gearbox moves along the assembly line, waiting for its body to come down from above

Super Beetle body shell painted in Clementine Orange L20D

Wolfsburg, August 11, 1970. Note the basic "Sparkäfer" 1200 models - blade bumpers, smaller rear lights and with a 34hp single-port engine fitted, slots in the engine lid were not necessary

Completed bodies, including 1302 models, are carefully lowered from the conveyor chain on to their chassis for the Hochzeit at the Wolfsburg plant

A fresh batch of North-American specification imported cars at the Port of Ensenada, northwest Mexico in 1971, including a lot of Super Beetles, known as the 1302 in Europe

A colorful scene at the Wolfsburg plant with 1302 bodies being completed on the assembly line in the early 1970s

1302 production painted in the very popular Marina Blue

1971 model year Beetle body shells, including 1302 models, are fitted out at the Wolfsburg plant before moving on to final assembly

1974 model year production in Wolfsburg Germany

A colorful assortment of Standard and Super Beetles arrive at the New York docks in 1974

Somewhere in Canada, 1973 Beetles being transported on a 3 deck train operated by CN (Canadian National) railways. Most of the regular colours offered on both the Standard and Super Beetle sedans for North America in 1973 are represented in this image, only Kansas Beige and Sumatra Green are missing

The Beetle became Der Weltmiester (World Champion) on February 17th 1972

Production began at VW-Werk Wolfsburg of the Gelb-Schwarze Renner (Yellow Black Racer) Beetle special limited edition on December 12th 1972 and continued until February 2nd 1973

Test car VW Beetle 1303 in the Wolfsburg wind tunnel

To celebrate West Germany winning the FIFA World Cup in 1974, Wilhelm Karmann GmbH produced twenty-five 1303 Super Beetle Cabriolets as a “World Cup ‘74” very limited special edition for all the members of the West German winning team

An early Passat surrounded by 1303 Super Beetles coming off the conveyor belt carrying cars out of the Wolfsburg factory. The Passat debuted in May 1973, so this image was taken between May 1973 and July 1974 but probably sometime in mid to late 1973

The 'home made' last ever Super Beetle sedan to be made at Volkswagen Brussels in 1975, a 1303 model

The 15 millionth Beetle is presented to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC in February 1972

The 2 millionth Beetle to be shipped from the port of Emden is seen on March 31, 1971, being hoisted aboard the Volkswagen transport ship Johann Schulte. The car is a 1302 Super Beetle and was decorated in traditional style with colorful Chrysanthemums

A 1302 Super Beetle being driven on Volkswagen's test track at Ehra-Lessien, 20 kilometers north of Wolfsburg

The Beetle overtakes the Model T Ford as the World's Best Selling car. There was no end in sight as Volkswagen was producing over one million units per year

A Super Beetle body in final assembly Hall 12 at the Wolfsburg factory is lowered onto its chassis

A colorful line of 1973 model year 1303 bodies nearing completion

Newly imported Super Beetles stored on the cross wall in Ramsgate's Royal Harbor in 1973

A line worker in the trunk of a 1972 Super Beetle at the Wolfsburg plant

Painters hard at work priming the Super Beetle bodies for final paint

The last ever Super Beetle Cabriolet rolled off the assembly line January 10, 1980, making way for VW Golf production

A Viper Green Metallic "Big Edition" Super Beetle nears completion

Spray painting 1303 body shells at Wolfsburg in 1974

August 11, 1970 - 1302 Super Beetle production begins at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg

August 11, 1970 - A 1302 in L90D Pastel White passes overhead at the Wolfsburg plant

A 1972 Super Beetle fully fitted out body meeting its chassis on the assembly line

The Wolfsburg plant was a colorful place in 1970

February 17, 1972 - The 15,007,034th Beetle rolled off the line overtaking the Model T Ford to become the best-selling car in automotive history

1303 Super Beetles as far as you can see on the Wolfsburg assembly line

January 1973 - 1303 Super Beetle body shells on the paint line at the Wolfsburg plant

Red, white and blue 1971 model year Super Beetles fresh from paint are transported by overhead chain conveyors to the body fitting hall at Volkswagenwerk Emden

Type 111/112 followed by Type 113/114 body shells. The new 1302 has the crescent-shape air extractor vents punched through

A sea of 1302 Super Beetles along with a Karmann Ghias and a Type 3 Squareback or two

A VW 1303 body on the fitting out and trim line at Volkswagen Brussels