Volkhart V2 Sagitta: The Forgotten Aerodynamic Marvel Ahead of Its Time

Streamlined Legacy - What is this car? How come it looks so weird? Those are the exact questions that might pop into your head the first time you lay eyes on the Volkhart V2 Sagitta. With its teardrop silhouette and streamlined design, it almost looks like a prop from an old science fiction movie. But this isn't some futuristic prototype from a forgotten film—it's a real car, built more than 75 years ago, and its story is more fascinating than its strange appearance lets on.

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta was the 2nd prototype designed by Kurt C Volkhart and Baron R König von Fachsenfeld based on the Volkswagen Beetle 1st generation aka the KdF Wagen Typ 60. (Picture from: ClassicCarWeekly.net)

At a glance, the Volkhart V2 Sagitta might seem like an oddball, but when you look closer at its foundation, things start to make sense. The car was developed using the chassis of the very first Volkswagen Beetle, officially known as the KdF-Wagen Typ 60. This was a wartime car, produced between 1937 and 1944, and was the seed from which one of the world’s most iconic vehicles would grow.

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta formerly known as the Luftwaffe 'courier car' due to it developed and built as a part of the Luftwaffe's need before the war for a small, fast and agile courier car. (Picture from: Bonham)

While most enthusiasts are familiar with the Porsche 356 as the pinnacle of performance based on the Beetle platform, the V2 Sagitta predates it in both vision and execution. Back in the late 1930s, Germany's Luftwaffe was on the hunt for a light, nimble courier vehicle—one that could be fast, efficient, and easy to maintain. That’s where Kurt C. Volkhart entered the scene. He was an engineer with a deep understanding of aerodynamics, something that wasn’t yet a major focus in car design.  

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta is offered accommodation for 4/5 passengers inside its cabin, but never came close to series production. (Picture from: Hemmings)

His early project, the V1, was a two-seater sports car powered by a rear-mounted 1,172 cc Ford Eifel engine with only 32 bhp of power. It never made it beyond the prototype phase, but the idea of a slick, aerodynamic machine stuck with him. 

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta when undergoing aerodynamic tests conducted by Volkswagen in its wind tunnel back in the 2011, produced a drag coefficient of 0.217 over a frontal area of 2.10 square meters. (Picture from: Hemmings)

After World War II, Volkhart picked up where he left off, this time with some financial help from a company called Sagitta. What came next was the V2, a one-of-a-kind aerodynamic experiment built on a wartime VW Beetle chassis (with number 2-033683). The body, made entirely of lightweight aluminum, was shaped by Baron Reinhard Koenig-Fachsenfeld, a visionary in the world of streamlined car design. Construction was handled by Helmut Fuchs and later finished by Hans Daum’s workshop, both based in Germany.

The Volkhart V1 small two-seater sports coupe came out in the end of 1930s, and powered by a rear-mounted 1,172 cc Ford Eifel engine with only 32 bhp of power. (Picture from: Hemmings)

Underneath that sleek body was a 1.1-liter, rear-mounted flat-four engine producing just 24 horsepower. Modest on paper, yes, but thanks to its incredibly efficient design, the car could reach speeds of up to 88 mph—faster than the early Porsches of the time. And despite its compact footprint, it could squeeze in four to five passengers, showing that Volkhart was thinking about practicality just as much as performance.

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta has inlets at the front, could be for the cabin ventilation, front brake cooling, horn, or a front mounted oil cooler. (Picture from: Hemmings)

What really set the V2 Sagitta apart, however, was its aerodynamic brilliance. The car was tested in Volkswagen’s wind tunnel in 2011, decades after it was built, and the results were astonishing. It recorded a drag coefficient of just 0.217—still on par with some of the best modern designs today. To put that into perspective, that’s better than most current-day sports cars, and lightyears ahead of anything else in the 1940s.

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta is powered by a rear-mounted 1.1-liter flat-four good for 24 horsepower and a top speed of 88 mph. (Picture from: Hemmings)

Sadly, the V2 never went into production. Volkswagen refused to supply more chassis, and without a solid production plan, the project faded into obscurity. Only one unit was ever made, and it had a strange life afterward.  

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta has a fan sucking air through that grille under rear window as for its engine cooling (although this 24 hp engine actually doesn't need much cooling). (Picture from: Hemmings)

It was sold to Hugo Tigges, a man who had provided materials during the car’s construction. He used it as his daily driver for six years before abandoning it in a garden in 1953. Two years later, Helmut Daum, son of one of the original builders, stepped in to rescue and preserve what was left.

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta' last appearance in public under British racing green color was happened at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2012. (Picture from: Madle.org)

Over time, the car was restored, repainted, and passed between owners before ending up with Austrian Porsche collector Walter Traxler. Its last known public appearance was at the 2012 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, where it turned heads in a fresh silver coat after being returned to its original color from a previous repaint in British racing green.

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta' last appearance in public under British racing green color was happened at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2012. (Picture from: Madle.org)

In early 2023, news surfaced that the Volkhart V2 Sagitta would be auctioned by Bonhams at an event in Paris, with an estimated price tag between €1.8 million and €2.6 million. Yet, in a surprising twist, the car was withdrawn before the sale could take place, leaving its future hanging in uncertainty once again.😥

The Volkhart V2 Sagitta is more than just a quirky piece of automotive history—it’s a glimpse into a lost path of design innovation. Built at a time when speed, beauty, and function rarely intersected in car design, it stood apart as a bold attempt to push boundaries. Today, it remains one of the rarest and most unique examples of what might have been, had things gone just a little differently.. *** [EKA [24032023] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CLASSICCARWEEKLY.NET | BONHAM | HEMMINGS | ULTIMATECARPAGE ]

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