60 years of Transporter
- Thursday, 8 November 2007
- 1 Comments
VW T1
It was a whole six decades ago that the original design for the VW Transporter was created. Now, 60 years on, the Transporter is still hugely popular, from the classic T1 design right up to the modern T5. To celebrate, VW threw a huge 60th birthday party in Hanover and thousands of vehicles from over 20 countries were there to mark the occasion.
It was back in 1947 that Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon first came across a vehicle used by VW factory workers to help transport heavy materials. Shortly afterwards he came up with the concept of the 'camper'. Pon was impressed by the way factory workers had taken a Beetle chassis and the engine, and added a small bench for the driver over the engine at the back and a vertical panel in the front to divide the driving compartment away from the load area. It was a primitive design but also a practical one.
In 1950 the first Transporters rolled off the production line powered by a powerful 25hp air-cooled 'boxer' engine at the back. The transporters proved popular as they were practical, undemanding and could reach a commendable speed of nearly 100kph. The Transporter took up marginally more space than the Beetle and was bright and comfortable.
To date over 10 million VW campers have been manufactured across the world and over the years these campers have gained a loyal following, from traditionalists who adore the nostalgia of the original Type 2 models to a new group of followers who love the driveability of the newer T4s and T5s.
Harold Schomburg, speaking on behalf of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles said, 'The VW bus is safe, reliable and comfortable; it is spacious, which leaves space for customisation. It is quite simply the vehicle that like no other is associated in people's minds with freedom, travel and individuality.'
December 02 15:39
JOHN ALEY
Congratulations! Like many of my friends I used a flatbed Splitty to carry my racing car around the Continent and have always had a soft spot for them - as long as I no longer have to drive one. We marvel how on every short trip we meet several on the road and mostly they are in excellent condition.
We had to smile when we read about the Hannover Rally and saw there were something like 11,000 people camping in nearly 4,000 vans and then remembered that none of these had fitted washrooms with loos.