VW Restores The “Half-Track Fox”, A Four-Axle T1 Microbus With Tank Tracks

The year was 1962 and Kurt Ketzner, an ingenious Viennese Volkswagen mechanic, decided that there was no vehicle designed to suit his country’s particular, mountainous terrain. He endeavored, therefore, to create his own, which would eventually be dubbed the “Half-Track Fox.”

The mechanic determined that the perfect basis for his project was a Volkswagen T1 microbus but decided that it would need tank tracks in order to handle the snow.

“At first, I had a look around, but couldn’t find the vehicle I was dreaming of. So, I decided to build it myself,” wrote Ketzner in marketing materials from the era.

Read Also: Citroen Golden Scarab Recreates 120-Year-Old Automotive Legend

He landed, then, on the idea of adding a pair of axles to the van. At the back, the microbus would get two axles driving tank tracks of Ketzner’s own design. Mounted on 13-inch wheels, the tracks were made of aluminum and rubber in order to make them safe for use both on roads and off.

The front axles, meanwhile, got normal wheels with 14-inch rough-tread tires and each wheel got its own brake. It also had a limited-slip differential that helped ensure even power distribution to the wheels, even in the deep snow.

There was not, however, an abundance of power to distribute. Ketzner saw no need to modify VW’s 1,192 cc flat-four, so the vehicle made just 33 hp (25 kW/34 PS). That was enough to get it up to a top speed of 35 km/h (21 mph), making it just a little slower than a real, four-legged fox.

Ketzner made just two of these elaborate contraptions by 1968 and was working on a third when he was forced to end production. This one was eventually bought by the Porsche Museum in Gmund, Austria, in 1990 before being bought by Bullikartel e.V., a Volkswagen microbus enthusiast society.

In 2005 they tried to start a restoration of the vehicle but ran into issues, forcing them to stop. In 2018, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles took ownership of the Half-Track Fox and handed it over to its Classic Vehicle department, tasking it with the extensive restoration, which was completed in February.

That allowed the team to let the vehicle plow through the snow once more. They report that, despite the lack of power, the Half-Track Fox is stunningly good at climbing snowy mountains.