Uber alles

To understand just how much German pride was able to put behind it the memory of a country reduced to rubble after being defeated in the war, just look at three cars destined to enter the history books: the tiny Porsche Speedster, the BMW 507 and the Mercedes 300SL Roadster. 

The established quality of Made in Germany combined with the unrivalled progress in aviation technology and construction made during the conflict, transformed these three stunning automobiles into a watershed moment for the German car industry. All three, in fact, were built in-house, their shapes wholly dependent on the underlying mechanics. A result that needs no additional comment.

But the story does not stop there: Audi was soon to arrive as well as the European subsidiary of GM, Opel, which wanted a piece of the action.

Not everything was beautiful though: how can we forget the curious, half-hearted attempt at the Volkswagen-Porsche? 

The story of German spiders is an austere one that is full of pride with one certainty: they will continue to create them. The road ahead is as straight as an arrow.