2014 marks a big milestone in the history of VW commercials: 60 years ago, the first ever right-hand drive Transporter arrived in the UK. Since then it’s been onwards and upwards for the sturdy, versatile and totally iconic Veedub Bus…
Simple, cleverly engineered and more practical than anything else on the road at the time, the T1 revolutionised the commercial vehicle market. Today, celebrating its diamond anniversary, the jewel in the commercial vehicles’ crown is one of the world’s biggest-selling light commercial vehicles, with campers in particular as we all know enjoying cult status across generations of owners.
From humble beginnings – just 786 were sold in its first year in the UK – the Transporter has played a key part in VW’s success. In 2013, UK sales of the Transporter reached 18,350 – a figure that demonstrates the vehicle’s appeal is continuing to grow. Globally, total Transporter production stands at 11.5 million units.
Long before the Transporter made its first appearance on UK soil, the idea for a load-carrying vehicle based on a Beetle platform came from Major Ivan Hirst – a senior British army officer placed in charge of re-commissioning the post-war Volkswagen factory. He ordered the creation of a flat-bed truck – dubbed the Plattenwagen – to move parts around the factory. The handy truck soon caught the eye of visiting Dutch importer Ben Pon in the mid-1940s, who proposed the idea of a more developed panel van version.
While VW was dead keen on the idea of a Beetle-based commercial, it wasn’t until the late 1940s that the factory had the resources to put in into production. In a timeframe that would be unthinkable today, the T1 went from drawing board to production line in just 13 months. In 1954, having tested the water in Germany, the Transporter T1 made its public debut at the Earls Court Commercial Motor Show.
Having basically established its superiority over its rivals, it became the template for light commercial panel vans, pick-ups and microbuses the world over – selling strongly for 17 years. Such was the brilliance of the original that the T2 that replaced it in 1967 retained much of its underpinnings. Even the boxy third-generation T3 that appeared in 1979 employed the neatly balanced, load-friendly rear engine layout of the original.
Indeed, it wasn’t until the fourth-generation T4 arrived in 1990 that Volkswagen switched to the now familiar front-engine, front-wheel drive layout. And just as the original had done in 1954, the T4 set new standards for refinement, quality and flexibility which is probably why the interest in it has blossomed – just like the first Dub commercial, in fact.
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage