Volkswagen Type 2
There might have been slightly less love going around during the Sixties if VW had not built the microvan
When the Volkswagen Beetle Type 1 hit the scene back in the Forties, it went on to be such a hit that it begged the question: what could be better? The Type 2, a microbus, was the answer.
Sixty-three years ago to this very day, Volkswagen chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff put the bus into production; a move that hippies all over the world would be forever grateful to the German carmaker for.
The bus became synonymous with them and especially the flower power movement that swept through the US in the Sixties. Every self-respecting hippie had one, and invariably it would be dolled up with a psychedelic paint while the radio blared Purple Haze or The Times They Are a-Changin by Hendrix and Dylan respectively. Passengers would inevitably be higher than a kite. Groovy, baby!
The big, boxy Type 2 sat on the Beetle’s chassis when first introduced in 1950. It even had the same wheelbase and used its air-cooled, horizontally opposed 25bhp flat-four, which was also mounted in the back. It went by a number of different names including the Transporter, Station Wagon and Kombi but the design was so strong that it didn’t change until 1967.
Ferdinand Porsche, who was credited with designing the Bug, had nothing to do with the Type 2. Instead, the original sketch was penned by Dutch businessman, Ben Pon. Once Volkswagen engineers added their two cents to the concept, it wasn’t long before the utilitarian bus took shape and left its mark.
There were many reasons for its success. It could carry lots of people including their camping gear, not to mention cooking supplies, while second-hand models could be bought very cheaply.
The Eighties saw Chrysler get in on the act by launching the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager but the Volkswagen was in its third generation by then and a staunch favourite. However, the next two decades were not as fruitful and the Type 4 and 5 were not as successful.
Volkswagen tried to revive the period with the Bulli concept in 2011, but things had changed. For instance, it had a fancy entertainment system controlled by an iPad when back in the day, the amusement was provided by conversing with hallucinating passengers. Far out, man!
