Military-themed vehicles are all the rage right now, but nothing would be quite as cool as this VW-based wartime Kuebelwagen lookalike…

If you’ve got the camo shorts, here’s an opportunity to get an appropriate vehicle to go with them! And while the ‘real thing’ – an original 1940s Kubelwagen – will be big money, perhaps as much as £60,000-£80,000, this similarly head-turning creation could be yours for a fraction of the price…

We spotted the cool custom-built masterpiece on eBay here for sale at £9,500. It failed to sell this time, but we’re sure it will either be relisted or put up for sale elsewehre. According to the item description, it’s based on a stainless steel frame and hand-built steel body panels. It all sits on a brand new floorpan, featuring an independent suspension setup with coilovers at the rear and a 3-inch narrowed beam up front with sway away adjusters. Polyurethane suspension bushes have been used to make the ride military spec ‘firm’. And get this, there’s even air shocks, with a large spun alloy tank at the front and dash-mounted controllers which is why the stance is absolutely spot on.

There’s disc brakes at the front, while at the back new drums, pads and brake lines have been fitted. Meanwhile, the engine is a rebuilt 1200 single port unit, mated to a bespoke four-into-one header fitted to an old school cherry bomb exhaust. Those BRM wheels look great against the desert camo effect paintwork, suitably accessorised by a military style door pillar mounted searchlight.

The military theme continues inside with bomber style custom made front seats with lapbelts and a modified Beetle bench in the rear. The dash itself has been specially fabricated wiht a period looking speedo and a rather bizarre thinly rimmed steering wheel. There’s a CD player, Trekker cab mats, an airfield klaxon style horn and  fully functioning heaters.

While it might not be to everyone’s taste, it sure is different. A one-off, no less. And something that’s likely to grab everyone’s attention at this year’s shows…We love it!

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage