Volkswagen


 * The Changing faces of the Volkswagen Bus**

http://www.thebuslab.com/history.htm



Would you believe this drawing was actually produced in 1947?



The Volkswagen Bus has changed dramatically over the past 50 years, and you can decide from reading the information on these pages whether it has been for the best or not!

An entrepeneur named Ben Pon meet up with the British authorities after World War ll with a confidence in the quality of the volkswagen product, and, seeing a gap in the market, looked to develop a small, rear engined, transporter 'a soapbox on wheels' Initial prototypes were very basic with the front end (shown below) subject to only basic aesthetic considerations



The 'type 2' began to take off in 1950 with the introduction of the Kombi and the Samba 'split screen' both fantastic utility vehicles keeping the aircooled engines (also used in VW sedans or 'beetles'), which were adequate for the jobs they were expected to do.

Bigger engines and minor adjustments to the styling and electronics were introduced over the next 10-15 years but the idea behind Pons design never changed.

1968 The 'Baywindow'.....

Although not as pretty as the 'split screen' the later model gave the owner a larger cab and load space.