Volkswagen Type 2

Kombi redirects here. For the Polish pop rock band, see Kombi (band).

The Volkswagen Type 2 (aka Transporter) was the second automotive line introduced by German automaker Volkswagen. It was a van introduced in 1950, initially based on Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1, also known as the "Beetle". The Type 2 is generally considered to be the forerunner of modern cargo and passenger vans. The Type 2 spawned a number of imitators both in the United States and Europe including the Ford Econoline, Dodge A100 and the Chevrolet Corvan, the latter even adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. Updated versions of this line are still being actively produced in international markets, both as a passenger and cargo van and as a pickup truck.

Type 2, T1 "Camper"

History

The idea for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon, who drew the first sketches of the van in 1947. The aerodynamics of the first prototypes were not good but heavy optimization took place at the wind tunnel of the Technical University of Braunschweig. The wind tunnel work paid off, as the Type 2 was aerodynamically superior to the Beetle despite its slab-sided shape. Three years later, under the direction of Volkswagen's new CEO Heinz Nordhoff, the first production model left the factory at Wolfsburg.

Unlike other rear-engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations referred to as versions "T1" to "T5," although only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).

The Type 2 was among the first commercial vehicles in which the driver was placed above the front wheels. As such, it started a trend in Europe, where the Ford Transit among others quickly copied the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally-opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s-70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which couldn't easily be loaded from the rear due to the engine cover intruding on interior space, but generally advantageous in terms of traction and interior noise.

File:IMG 0136.JPG

Custom painted art bus

Another trend that the Type 2 may not have started, but that it certainly gave momentum to, is the use of nicely-trimmed commercial vans as people carriers. This first took hold in the United States in the 1960s, aided by tongue-in-cheek advertising by the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency.

During the hippie era in the United States, the Bus became a major counterculture symbol. There were several reasons: The van could carry a number of people plus camping gear and cooking supplies, extra clothing, do-it-yourself carpenter's tools, etc. As a "statement", its boxy, utilitarian shape made the Type 2 everything the American cars of the day were not. Used models were incredibly cheap to buy — a majority were hand-painted (a predecessor of the modern-day art car). Some Bus enthusiasts (especially for antiwar activists) would replace the VW logo with a painted peace symbol up front. Since that time, however, the original 1950–1967 Type 2 (primarily the pre-1956 barn-doors) has become a collector's item with special variations reaching into the North American five-figure price territory.

Variants

The Type 2 was available as a:

• Delivery van without side windows or rear seats (Panel Van).
• Delivery van with raised roof (High Roof Panel Van), or Hochdach.
• Van with side windows and removable rear seats (Kombi, from German Kombinationskraftwagen (combination vehicle), i.e. both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined).
• Van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars (Bus; also called Caravelle since the third generation).
• Van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof (Samba-Bus, first generation only; also called Deluxe Microbus).
• Flatbed truck (Pick-up), or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.
• Flatbed truck, Double Cab, with two rows of seats (Crew Cab Pick-up).
• Camping van (Westy; with Westfalia roof and interior).
• Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts (Multivan, or Weekender, available from the third generation on).

Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to; refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia.

T1

T1c Kombi

Subaru Sambar microvan retro-Kombi conversion

The first generation of the VW Type 2 with the split front window, called the Microbus or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from March 8th, 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950 to 1956, the T1 was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956 it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the Volkswagen air cooled engine, a 1.2 L, 25 hp (19 kW), air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine mounted in the rear. The 36 hp (22 kW) version became standard in 1955 while an unusual early version of the 40 hp (25 kW) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 40 hp (25 kW) engine. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.

The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the T1a or "Barndoor", owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15 in (381 mm) wheels instead of the original 16 in (406 mm) ones were called the T1b. From the 1963 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the T2), the vehicle was referred to as the T1c. 1963 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans. This change arguably makes the 1963 VW the first true minivan, although the term wouldn't be coined for another three decades.

In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of one metric ton (1,000 kg) instead of the previous 750 kg, smaller but wider 14 in (356 mm) wheels, and a 1.5 L, 42 DIN hp (31 kW) engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 44 hp DIN (32 kW).

German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968-79 T2-style front end and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and 5-stud (205 mm bolt circle) rims. Brazil production air-cooled vehicles (including the VW Brasilia) are a rare find in the USA and usually sought after by collectors.

Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. 3-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The deluxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). And the sunroof deluxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1963 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively.

T2

1972 T2a Bus

In 1968, the second generation of the Type 2 was introduced. It was built in Germany until 1979, with production shifting to Mexico in 1980 and to Brazil in 1996. Models before 1971 are often called the T2a, while models after 1972 are called the T2b.

This second-generation Type 2 lost its distinctive split front window and was slightly larger and considerably heavier than its predecessor. Its common nicknames are Breadloaf and Bay-window, or Loaf and Bay for short. At 1.6 L and 48 DIN hp (35 kW), the engine was also slightly larger. The new model also did away with the swing axle rear suspension and transfer boxes previously used to raise ride height. Instead, half-shaft axles fitted with CV joints raised ride height without the wild changes in camber of the Beetle-based swing axle suspension. The updated Bus transaxle is usually sought after by off-road racers using air-cooled VW components.

The T2b was introduced by way of gradual change over three years. The 1971 Type 2 featured a new, 1.6 L engine with dual intake ports on each cylinder head and was rated at 50 DIN hp (37 kW). An important change came with the introduction of front disc brakes and new wheels with brake ventilation holes and flatter hubcaps. 1972's most prominent change was a bigger engine compartment to fit the larger 1.7 to 2.0 L engines from the VW Type 4, and a redesigned rear end which eliminated the removable rear apron. The air inlets were also enlarged to accommodate the increased cooling air needs of the larger engines.

This all-new, larger engine is commonly called the Type 4 engine as opposed to the previous Type 1 engine first introduced in the Type 1 Beetle. This engine was called "Type 4" because it was originally designed for the Type 4 (411 and 412) automobiles. There is no "Type 2 engine" or "Type 3 engine", because those vehicles did not feature new engine designs when introduced. They used the "Type 1" engine from the Beetle with minor modifications such as rear mount provisions and different cooling shroud arrangements.

In the Type 2, the VW Type 4 engine was an option for the 1972 model year onward. This engine was standard in models destined for the US and Canada. Only with the Type 4 engine did an automatic transmission become available for the first time in the 1973 model year. Both engines displaced 1.7 L, rated at 66 DIN hp (49 kW) with the manual transmission and 62 DIN hp (46 kW) with the automatic. The Type 4 engine was enlarged to 1.8 L and 68 DIN hp (50 kW) for the 1974 model year and again to 2.0 L and 70 DIN hp (52 kW) for the 1976 model year. As with all Transporter engines, the focus in development was not on power, but on low-end torque. The Type 4 engines were considerably more robust and durable than the Type 1 engines, particularly in transporter service.

Late 1970s T2b Ambulance

1973 also saw the most noticeable exterior changes. The front turn indicators were squared off from the previous version and set higher in the front valence, above the headlights. Larger taillights were added to comply with U.S. lighting requirements as were larger bumpers. Crash safety improved greatly with this change due to a compressible structure behind the front bumper. This meant that the T2b was capable of meeting US safety standards for passenger cars of the time, though being vans they were not required to. The only thing that shrunk on the new model, or so it seemed, was the large and distinctive "VW" emblem on the front of the early model.

Later model changes were primarily under the skin. By 1974, the T2 had gained its final shape. Very late in the T2's design life, during the late 1970s, the first prototypes of Type 2 vans with four wheel drive were built and tested.

The T2 also has the distinction of being the basis for one of the most sought-after and valuable toys in US-history. In 1969, Mattel introduced a new model to their line of Hot Wheels die-cast toy cars. This was the "Beach Bomb," a customized Type 2 complete with surfboards. The prototypes had the surfboards placed in the car, sticking out from the rear window. These "Rear Loaders" turned out to have an excessively high center of gravity, making them prone to tip over in banked curves, so the Beach Bomb was completely redesigned. The production model had its body sectioned to reduce height, a counter weight added to its base, and the surfboards were placed inside widened rear fenders to create a lower center of gravity, resulting in the nickname "Side Loader". Only a few dozen of the prototype "Rear Loaders" have survived, with only two of them painted in "Spectraflame Hot Pink". One of these Hot Pink Rearloaders was sold privately in 2000 for $72.000 while the other sold in 2004 for over $50.000.

The T2c, so called since it got a slightly raised roof — by about 10 cm — in the early 1990s, was built for the South American and Central American markets. The T2c was produced in Mexico until 1991* with the 1.6 L air-cooled Type 1 engine, and from 1991 until 1996 with water-cooled engines from the VW Golf (a VW/Audi 1.4L). Since 1997, the T2c has been built in Brazil with air-cooled engines for the Brazilian market and with water-cooled engines for the Mexican market, the latter easily identified by their large, black-coloured, front-mounted radiators. 1

Brazilian version of the VW Type 2 with a water cooled engine

Since production of the original Beetle was halted in late 2003, the T2 remained the only Volkswagen model with the traditional air-cooled, rear-mounted boxer engine when the Brazilian model shifted to water-cooled on December 23, 2005. Previously, the watercooled T2c was sold in Mexico between 1991-2002.

The shift to water-cooled engines is in response to Brazil's emission laws which go into effect for 2006 and beyond. The new water-cooled engine will run on petrol as well as alcohol, which costs about 50% less than ordinary fuel. 2 The engine is a EA-111 1.4 8v Total Flex. 1390 cm³, 78 hp on petrol, and 80 hp when run on ethanol.

T3

Main article: Vanagon

Mid-1980s T3 Kombi

The T3, known as the T25 in Britain and Ireland, and Vanagon in the US, was built from 1979 to 1991 (or 1992 if one includes the Syncro) and was the third distinct generation of the Type 2. It featured an all-new mechanical design that matched the T2 in length and height, but was wider by 12 cm and considerably heavier. Additional interior space was created by lowering the engine compartment; the rear door is 75% larger than the T2's. The suspension and almost all mechanical components were completely changed, and frontal crash protection was greatly increased. The body was considerably squared-off, though retaining the overall impression of previous versions. Body variants remained the same as before.

Until 1982, the T3 was available with the same air-cooled engines as the T2. Starting in 1981, water-cooled diesel engines were available options and for 1984, water-cooled gasoline boxer engines replaced the previous air-cooled ones.

From 1985, the T3 Syncro represented the first production Type 2 with four-wheel-drive. The Syncro drive system was full-time four wheel drive, with drive to the front axle controlled by a viscous coupling that delivered power when required. European Syncros were normally fitted with front and rear pneumatically operated differential locks to improve traction. These were not normally fitted to US-spec Vanagons due to fears over product liability.

Late 1980s T3 Caravelle Syncro

Engine size and performance grew considerably over the T25's production run, from the 1.6 L, 50 DIN hp (37 kW) and 2.0 L, 70 DIN hp (52 kW) air-cooled engines to 1.9 L water-cooled powerplants rated at 60 DIN hp (44 kW) or 78 DIN hp (57 kW) to the top-of the line 2.1 L, 112 DIN hp (82 kW) (95 hp for vans with catalytic converters) fuel-injected version. Likewise, the diesel engine grew to 1.9 L and 65 DIN hp (48 kW). There was a turbodiesel option, but only in 1.6 L, 70 DIN hp (52 kW) trim. The 1.9 L turbodiesel upgrade was not available until the introduction of the T4.

In its home market, the T3 was replaced by the T4 for the 1990 model year, but some Syncro models and vehicles for Deutsche Post and the German military continued to be produced in Graz, Austria until 1992. The last German-built T3s were the very sought-after "Limited Last Edition" models of which 2,500 were built.

Meanwhile, the T3 was still being built in South Africa, with a slightly modified body (larger windows, different ventilation, less room above the engine), fuel-injected four and five-cylinder inline engines and new equipment packages. South African T3 production was halted in 2002.

Front-engined successors

Main article: VW Eurovan

2004 VW Transporter

Since 1990, the Transporter in most world markets has been front-engined and water-cooled similar to other contemporary Volkswagens. It is quite noteworthy that this happened almost two decades later than it did for the passenger cars, especially since commercial vehicles are usually not purchased for sentimental reasons. A new front-engined Transporter with design cues from the T1 model was planned for the 2007 model year and targeted at the US market. However, in May 2004 Volkswagen announced that the design had been scrapped and would be replaced with another, more cost-efficient one to be marketed globally.

For more details on Volkswagen's front-engined Transporters, see VW Eurovan (US brand name – all types still marketed as Transporter in the UK and Ireland).

In 2001, a Volkswagen Microbus Concept was created.

In 2006, the Brazilian branch of Volkswagen AG start selling VW Bus with a new 1.4L water-cooled rear-mounted engine. This marks the end of the Brazilian air-cooled engine era. The "new" VW Bus (called "Kombi" in Brazil) uses the old generation 2 body.

Names and nicknames

Like the Beetle, from the beginning, the Type 2 earned many nicknames from its fans. Among the most popular, at least in Germany, are VW-Bus and Bulli (or Bully). The Type 2 was meant to be officially named the Bully, but Heinrich Lanz, producer of the Lanz Bulldog farm tractor, intervened. The model was then presented as the VW Transporter and VW Kleinbus, but the Bully nickname still caught on.

The official German-language model names Transporter and Kombi (Kombinationskraftwagen, "combined-use vehicle") have also caught on as nicknames. Kombi is not only the name of the passenger variant, but is also the Australasian and Brazilian term for the whole Type 2 family in much the same way that they are all called VW-Bus in Germany – even the pickup truck variations. In Mexico, the German "Kombi" was translated as "Combi", and became a household word thanks to the vehicle's popularity in Mexico City's public transportation system. In Peru, where the term Combi was similarly adopted, the term Combi Asesina (Murdering Combi) is often used for buses of similar size, due to the notorious recklessness and competition of Lima bus drivers to get passengers. The Portuguese people also have a particular name for it: they name it "Pão-de-Forma" (Breadloaf) because its design resembles a bread baked in a mold. Similarly, in Denmark, the Type 2 is referred to as "Rugbrød" (Rye bread). Finns dubbed it Kleinbus (mini-bus), as many taxicab companies adopted it for group transportation; the name "kleinbus" has become an appellative for all passenger vans.

In America, however, it is a VW bus, a "vee-dub," a hippie-mobile, hippie bus, or hippie van, "combie", Microbus or a Transporter to aficionados. The early versions produced before 1967 used a split front windshield (giving rise to the nickname "Splitty"), and their comparative rarity has led to their becoming sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. The next version, sold in the USA market from 1968 to 1979, is characterised by a large, curved windshield and is commonly called a "bay-window". It was replaced by the Vanagon, of which only the Westfalia camper version has a common nickname, "Westy".

It was called Volksie Bus in South Africa, notable in a series of that country's TV commercials. "Kombi" is also a generic nickname for vans and minibuses in South Africa.

Communities

Today, many VW Bus communities and clubs exist on the Internet, hosting pictures, discussion forums, technical articles, and more; their membership allows experts to help out curious novices requiring assistance with their vehicles.

References in popular culture

Music

• Men at Work's 1982 hit "Down Under" refers to "Traveling in a fried-out Kombi, On a hippie trail, head full of zombie."
• C.W. McCall's hit "Convoy" refers to "eleven long-haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse microbus".
• Before it spawned the movie of the same name (see below), Arlo Guthrie's song "Alice's Restaurant" was released in 1967. It mentioned a "red VW Microbus" filled with "shovels, rakes, and implements of destruction."
• Bruce Springsteen's song "The Angel," from his 1973 album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., mentions "Volkswagen vans with full running boards driving great anchors."
• The Who's "Magic Bus" is said to be about this vehicle.
• Dean Friedman's Ariel mentions "my VW Van".
• Sublime's cover of the Grateful Dead's "Scarlet Begonias" from 40 oz. to Freedom mentions that the lead singer drives a microbus.

Film

The VW Bus was a regular player in many 1960s and 1970s movies, and afterwards as an icon for the counterculture era:

• A first-generation VW bus plays a supporting role in the 1967 film Wait Until Dark starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin.
• Arlo Guthrie's 1969 film Alice's Restaurant has numerous long sequences involving his red 1964 VW camper bus.
• In Forrest Gump, Jenny is seen exiting a VW Bus while living the hippie lifestyle during Forrest's deployment to Vietnam.
• In the 2006 Pixar movie Cars (voiced by George Carlin), the hippy van Fillmore is a VW Type 2. Also, Steve Jobs, the CEO and founder of Pixar, sold his VW Type 2 to finance what would become Apple Computer.
• In the 1993 Richard Linklater film Dazed and Confused, in the scene where the character Mitch Kramer gets paddled for the first time, a VW Type 2 can be briefly seen in the baseball field parking lot. Other Type 2 VW's are also visible in other parts of the film.
• In the movie Dirty Harry starring Clint Eastwood, a Microbus deluxe can be seen clearly on the street before a bank robbery takes place. The second film, Magnum Force, a Bus was t-boned in the film (Eastwood is seen driving a 1972 Ford Galaxie 500 - the car is later blown up by the film's end).
• The 1972 comedy film What's Up, Doc? featured a first generation Bus which is rammed several times.
• In the movie Ronin there is a military green Type 2 transporting the characters around.
• A Bay Window Bus is seen in the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown.
• Kevin Costner drives cross country in a VW Bus to kidnap James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams
• The movie Little Miss Sunshine centers around a family road trip from New Mexico to California in a yellow second-generation Bus. Alan Arkin also appears in this movie, as does Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette.
• A black VW Bus with an AC/DC logo on the side is seen the movie Maximum Overdrive, in the scene where a drawbridge opens itself while traffic is still on the bridge.
• The 1955 film The Quatermass Xperiment features an early Type 2 (which inexplicably houses a radio transceiver in its engine compartment)
• In the movie Back to the Future there is a green VW Bus used by Libyan terrorist to chase the professor and his car shaped time machine.
• Jeff Spicoli and his stoner friends were "boxing" in an orange VW bus in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"

Television

• Type 2s have been included in both "Pimp My Ride US" (Ryan's '58 Bus in Series 2) and "Pimp My Ride UK" (Zoë's '67 Camper and Jono's Bay Window Pick up in Series 2).
• In the eighth series of Top Gear, Richard Hammond tried to convert a Volkswagen Type 2 T3 to be amphibious, adding modifications to enable it to float on a canal. However, the show's producers surprised the presenters by announcing that their amphibious craft would have to sail on a lake, and as a result, Hammond's experiment with the VW Type 2 failed, and the craft sank. Subsequently, Hammond was beaten by James May's Triumph Herald yacht conversion.
• In the Doctor Who episode, Gridlock, thousands of Type 2-like hovering vans are seen trapped on a Motorway, some having been in the constant traffic jam, upwards of 20 years.
• A Type 2 made its appearance in one of Futurama's episode "Bendin' in the Wind" and was a key part of the episode and was refered to as "Free spirited German enginearing".
• An Episode of "Law & Order," entitled "Ramparts" (Episode Number: 192, Season Num: 9), involves a VW Bus being dredged from the Hudson River near the George Washington Bridge with the 30-year old remains of a corpse inside.
• A blue Type 2, T3 appeared in an episode of Sliders as the main characters' getaway vehicle.
• The television show Scooby-Doo featured a painted Type 2 as the "Mystery Machine."
• A Type 2 bus is seen in Lost season 3. Also known as the Dharma van which is found on the island by Hurley & Vincent the dog. Instead of the large VW sign on the front, it holds the Dharma Initiative logo in its place. The bus is two tone, being blue and white in colour. It is also very rusty and has the rotting body of the original driver, Roger, inside.

Video games

• The Type 2 is an unlockable car in the game GTi Racing, and it is modifiable, with a range of things such as new body parts and turbochargers.
• Vehicles known as Campers in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are based on the Type 2. The character Truth, a hippie, has a Camper painted in a hippy-style called "The Mothership".
• A Type 2-like van is also driveable in the video game San Francisco Rush.

External links

• Volkswagen Type 2 at Curlie