The word iconic is often overused, but if any vehicle deserves it then it might just be this one. The subject of this week’s guide has been around for more than seventy years, and it’s been both a source of motoring enjoyment and acted as something of a cultural touchstone. Ask someone to imagine the transport of choice for hippies and surfers and it’s likely to be this that comes to mind.
We should clarify the name before going further, though. When it arrived in 1950 it was known as the Type 2 and it was only in 1990 that VW renumbered things so these early split-screen vans became the Type 1 (previously used for the Beetle) with the ‘Bay Window’ version launched in 1967 becoming the Type 2. The T1 ‘splittie’ was pretty basic and mustered barely 25bhp although larger air-cooled engines and more power came later.
The T2 lost the split windscreen but gained all manner of improvements, from more space and 12-volt electrics to improved suspension and more powerful engines. It was built in West Germany until 1979, but production didn’t finally end in Brazil
