The VW camper van is one of the most iconic vehicles ever produced. Few other vehicles have the ability to turn heads and conjure a spirit of freedom, adventure and open roads.
This is the first of a three-part series providing you with a potted history of the VW camper van, told both in text but particularly through the imagery created by VW’s own advertising over the decades. VW’s “Think Small” campaign for the Beetle in the 1950s was ranked the best advertising campaign of the twentieth century by Ad Age in a survey of North American advertisements. VW’s campaigns were skillfully designed to build a lifetime of brand loyalty.
To understand the history of the VW camper van you first need to appreciate how its heritage is directly linked the VW Transporter, the base van also known as the Panel Van, Microbus and Plattenwagen. Contrary to the common view, it was not until the production of the California in 2005 that VW actually produced a camper van themselves – all previous campers were conversions carried out by other companies.
It was in Wolfsburg, a town in northern Germany, that the Volkwagen plant was supported to produce the Beetle as a means of stimulating post-war reconstruction. In 1947, when production of the Beetle was rapidly expanding, a Dutch car dealer and importer called Ben Pon, famously sketched out a simple, box-shaped delivery vehicle that was based on the Beetle’s chassis. He persuaded Heinrich Nordhoff, who ran the VW factory in Wolfsburg, to put the van into production. It was an innovative design that maximising the load-carrying capacity of the vehicle, in between the cab over the front wheels and the engine mounted over the rear wheels.
The first VW Transporter was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in November 1949 and soon became popular as a low-cost, adaptable and flexible utility vehicle. The ‘shoe box’ advert below shows its versatility. The basic Panel Van was simply a load-carrier with no windows. Put in some removable bench seats and windows and you then had the Kombi (the Kombinationskraftswagen). Add some creature comforts such as sliding canvas roof, skylights and high level trim and you had the Microbus or the Deluxe Microbus (also called the Samba). Remove the rear end and you had the flatbed van. Over the years, many variants were produced, both by VW, conversion companies and enthusiasts.
This is the first of a three-part series providing you with a potted history of the VW camper van, told both in text but particularly through the imagery created by VW’s own advertising over the decades. VW’s “Think Small” campaign for the Beetle in the 1950s was ranked the best advertising campaign of the twentieth century by Ad Age in a survey of North American advertisements. VW’s campaigns were skillfully designed to build a lifetime of brand loyalty.
To understand the history of the VW camper van you first need to appreciate how its heritage is directly linked the VW Transporter, the base van also known as the Panel Van, Microbus and Plattenwagen. Contrary to the common view, it was not until the production of the California in 2005 that VW actually produced a camper van themselves – all previous campers were conversions carried out by other companies.
It was in Wolfsburg, a town in northern Germany, that the Volkwagen plant was supported to produce the Beetle as a means of stimulating post-war reconstruction. In 1947, when production of the Beetle was rapidly expanding, a Dutch car dealer and importer called Ben Pon, famously sketched out a simple, box-shaped delivery vehicle that was based on the Beetle’s chassis. He persuaded Heinrich Nordhoff, who ran the VW factory in Wolfsburg, to put the van into production. It was an innovative design that maximising the load-carrying capacity of the vehicle, in between the cab over the front wheels and the engine mounted over the rear wheels.
Select your VW Camper or Microbus, from AGNES, BLONDIE, LOLA, MEG, Oor Wullie, oor laddie, THE NODPOD, Samba and Ziggy StarVan.
