Precisely 50 years ago today to the day and date, Thursday 17th February 1972, a significant moment in automotive history was made when Volkswagen churned out the 15,007,034th example of its Type 1 ‘Beetle’ from its colossal Wolfsburg factory. In doing so the Beetle overtook the previous record for the world’s most-produced car by one unit, a record that had been set and gone unchallenged for 45-years by the Ford Model T, production of which came to the end after 19 years in 1927.