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The Volkswagen Type 18A is a limited production variant of the Volkswagen Type 1 made for the German police that started production in 1949. In German it was called "Polizei Cabriolet" or Gendarmerier.[1] It was also used by East Berlin's fire department.[2] In total 482 were made, 203 by Karosserie Austro-Tatra.[3] The lack of doors made it easy to get in or out of the car, but made it uncomfortable during the winter. The floorpan was strengthened, but the engine was a stock Type 1 engine producing 25 hp (19 kW), with a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). The brakes were mechanical.[3]
The car was initially made by Hebmüller, but in 1950 production was moved to Karmann. Later a version with doors (15A M47) was also produced. During the late 1940s, four different types of Polizei Cabriolet were made, based on either Type 1 sedans or VW running gear.[3] by Karmann, Hebmüller (which had a cabriolet top and mostly used four cloth doors),[4] Papler (based in Köln, which differed in having four steel doors; only two are known to survive),[4] and Austro-Tatra (which also used steel doors, and like the Hebmüller had a cabriolet top).[4]
