The same engine design has driven the Volkswagen Beetle for the last 60 years. Ferdinand Porsche had been working on various other cars for other manufacturers before the Volkswagen and incorporated some older designs within this new project. Other vehicle designs were utilized for this project, the backbone chassis and the idea of independent front and rear suspension came from on and the torsion bar front suspension patented by Porsche back in 1931. The body styling dates back to 1931, to a car called the Wanderer which never reached production and the only prototype built was used by Ferdinand Porsche for his personal transport.