Approved for production by Volkswagen’s newly appointed executive officer Heinz Nordhoff in May 1949, the first vehicle rolled off the production line in November that year. The Type 1 was the ‘Beetle’ car. Like the car, the van became a design icon, universally known to generations, and spawned a myriad of forms, from commercial transporter to multi-glassed bus. The Type 2 also encouraged a number of post-war forward-control designs. Volkswagen called the rear-engine van the ‘Type 2’ to differentiate it from the Type 1 or ‘Beetle’ saloon, when the company’s forward-control light-commercial vehicle range debuted in 1949.
‘Otto’ is Wellington husband and wife Andy and Ali Bray’s 1965 Type 2 Volkswagen panel van; full name ‘Otto von Vannington’. When Andy and Ali were discussing possible names for the VW, they said that they liked Otto. Ali hopped on to the personalised plates website and found Otto was available, making their day, and that is how Otto got his plates.
