Saturday, December 12 2009
Volkswagen Commemorates the Anniversary of the Transporter
During the months of November and December; Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be recognizing two important anniversaries. The anniversary celebrations will take place in Wolfsburg, Germany at the AutoMuseum. The anniversaries commemorate the release of the first prototype model of the Transporter van to the press by Heinrich Nordoff that took place 60 years ago and the 30-year anniversary of the releasing of the 3rd generation of the Transporter van.
These anniversaries are taking place in conjunction with the celebration of the release of the most recent editions of the Volkswagen’s Transporter van and Volkswagen’s California campervan and Volkswagen’s Carravelle people carrier van in the coming year.
Showcased at the museum will be the Dove Blue panel, the first of the Transporter prototypes, along with memorabilia from Transporters that have been manufactured down through the years. The TI, also known by the nickname Splittie due to its split front glass was at the first a derivative that was inspired by the T1 Beetle. The first converted T1 will also be showcased; this T1 is known as Beck’s Bus and is equipped with a bar that is built into the van that gives out cold beer.
Down through the years, from the first model the T1 all the way to the T3 released in 1979, the air cooled, rear engine has been a staple of the these iconic vans from Volkswagen; it was not until 1984 that the air cooled engine was exchanged for a water cooled engine.
The Transporter is one the most popular models that Volkswagen sells in the UK and around the globe. Since its initial production in March of 1950, there have been in excess 10 million of these legendary vehicles sold.