The original VW Transporter Just Turned 65 And It’s Still The Coolest Van Ever

Volkswagen is celebrating 65 years since the first VW Transporter was built. Very few cars have reached the iconic status the first Transporter enjoys to this day, a classic that is universally loved and sought after.

Born from a pencil sketch in 1947, the Transporter’s design was clearly inspired by the original Beetle, with designers utilizing the axles and engines from it, mounted to a ladder frame. With 24hp from its 1.1-litre engine, the first Bus version of the Transporter was able to carry up to eight people with the two rear seat rows removable to free up load space easily. The Germans nicknamed it the Bulli and to the Americans it was simply the Microbus.

Whether you were a hippie or a businessman, your van of choice had to be a T1, with the huge demand forcing Volkswagen to build a separate factory specific for it, six years after its debut in 1950.

‘The production launch of the T1 represented the beginning of a long success story that has lasted right up to today. In the past, as well as the present, there is market demand for extremely reliable, versatile and individual vehicles’, said Dr. Eckhard Scholz, Chairman of the Brand Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

11 million units and 65 years later, the Transporter still goes on with the new model -the T6- to be launched later this year.