Here’s Something To Root For: A 21st Century Brubaker Box Surf Van

The Brubaker Box is one of the most iconic surf vans ever made and owes its fame partly to the fact it was built on the popular VW Beetle chassis.

Designed by Curtis Brubaker, the Box was made from 13 inner and outer fiberglass panels, including a floor panel, riveted and bonded together. While longer than the Beetle, the Box’s bodywork was designed to bolt directly to a standard Volkswagen Type 1 chassis.

Interestingly, access to the cabin was made exclusively via the passenger side sliding door, which allowed some changes to the packaging. For example, the pedals were raised and the dash controls and radio were moved to the left side of the driver.

See Also: How About A VW Beetle Pickup To Cure Your Lockdown Blues?

Furthermore, in addition to the two seats up front, the Brubaker Box featured a lounge-like area in the back, much like larger vans of the era. Unfortunately, Curtis Brubaker only managed to build three of his Boxes in 1972, one of which became the Roamer on the Ark II TV show.

But that wasn’t the end of the Brubaker Box as approximately 25 additional vehicles were built by AutoMecca using an AMC Hornet windshield, Datsun Truck taillights and various other parts from a Chevrolet El Camino.

Original Brubaker Box

We made this unusually long introduction to present to you a very cool reinterpretation of the Brubaker Box for the 21st century. Styled by Samir Sadikhov, who works as an exterior car designer, these renderings envision a modern-day Box complete with contemporary design cues. Those include the sleek LED lights, massive wheels shod with extra-wide tires, and a retractable door handle for the sliding door.

It’s easy to imagine this 2020 Brubaker Box with an all-electric propulsion, though in these renders the fuel filler cap on the driver’s side suggests the creator had a more traditional powertrain in mind. Hands up who would like to see this become a reality.

Thanks to Samir Sadikhov for the photos!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-RlZ02oRt0/