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On November 12, 1949 Volkswagen unveiled their second addition to the brand's lineup. Named the Type 2 Transporter, it was a reality of Dutch importer Ben Pon's vision of creating a workhorse using the Type 1 "Beetle's" engine and drive train in a very compact package while maintaining maximum utility and cargo space.
Ben Pon imported Volkswagens to the Netherlands and the United States. While at the factory, he witnessed VW’s Plattenwagen, a front-loaded car parts carrier, in action while visiting the Volkswagen factory and realized that creating a vehicle from the Plattenwagen’s design would make great use during the Post-war recovery. Pon sketched out the first-ever design of the VW Transporter inside his notebook in 1947. Volkswagen began to work on the project for the next two years.
The first eight Type 2s were revealed to the public in November '49. Volkswagen designed each model for a different set of needs: a pick-up truck based off the Plattenwagen, a passenger van or a "microbus" with fixed seats, a dedicated cargo van, and a cargo van with removable seats known as the Kombi. All eight of these models are considered part of the Type 2 series not to mention the ninety other variations VW would make in the coming years. By 1954, over 100,000 Type 2s were on the road in Europe. By this point the VW Transporter was on it's way from becoming a utility vehicle to a cult icon.
VW Transporters would be used for literally everything around the world. From things such as camping vehicles, food trucks, ambulances, paddy wagons, touring vans, to things like fire trucks, milk vans, floral vans, and race transporters.
And with it's cheap cost, economy, easy maintenance and vast interior space, the VW Transporter became favored by the counter culture movement.
Volkswagen would continue to evolve the Type 2 starting with the "T2" in 1967 and the "T3" generation in 1979 while making the vehicle more practical and contemporary.
VW would finally end the production of the Type 2 "T2" Transporter in Brazil in December 2013. A special final edition was made and the car has become a national icon.
Volkswagen to this day still produces the Transporter. It's currently the "T6" generation. Like it's Type 2 ancestors, the T6 is available in many body styles for different needs.
After 5 million built and 70 years later, the VW Type 2 has become one of the world's most recognizable automobiles. It's not remembered for blistering Nurburgring lap times or 0-60 times but it's remembered for the automotive impact it's made on society. And with that, the VW Bus has become a true collectors item. With it becoming rarer every day, prices have skyrocketed making some examples sell for six figures.
Ben Pon imported Volkswagens to the Netherlands and the United States. While at the factory, he witnessed VW’s Plattenwagen, a front-loaded car parts carrier, in action while visiting the Volkswagen factory and realized that creating a vehicle from the Plattenwagen’s design would make great use during the Post-war recovery. Pon sketched out the first-ever design of the VW Transporter inside his notebook in 1947. Volkswagen began to work on the project for the next two years.
The first eight Type 2s were revealed to the public in November '49. Volkswagen designed each model for a different set of needs: a pick-up truck based off the Plattenwagen, a passenger van or a "microbus" with fixed seats, a dedicated cargo van, and a cargo van with removable seats known as the Kombi. All eight of these models are considered part of the Type 2 series not to mention the ninety other variations VW would make in the coming years. By 1954, over 100,000 Type 2s were on the road in Europe. By this point the VW Transporter was on it's way from becoming a utility vehicle to a cult icon.
VW Transporters would be used for literally everything around the world. From things such as camping vehicles, food trucks, ambulances, paddy wagons, touring vans, to things like fire trucks, milk vans, floral vans, and race transporters.
And with it's cheap cost, economy, easy maintenance and vast interior space, the VW Transporter became favored by the counter culture movement.
Volkswagen would continue to evolve the Type 2 starting with the "T2" in 1967 and the "T3" generation in 1979 while making the vehicle more practical and contemporary.
VW would finally end the production of the Type 2 "T2" Transporter in Brazil in December 2013. A special final edition was made and the car has become a national icon.
Volkswagen to this day still produces the Transporter. It's currently the "T6" generation. Like it's Type 2 ancestors, the T6 is available in many body styles for different needs.
After 5 million built and 70 years later, the VW Type 2 has become one of the world's most recognizable automobiles. It's not remembered for blistering Nurburgring lap times or 0-60 times but it's remembered for the automotive impact it's made on society. And with that, the VW Bus has become a true collectors item. With it becoming rarer every day, prices have skyrocketed making some examples sell for six figures.
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