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The Weird and Wonderful 5
Military VWs, Post War Years
Type 181 Thing
Originally designed for the West German Army,
the type 181 is perhaps the VW model with the most names. "Safari",
"Kurierwagen", "Mehrzweckwagen", "Thing"
(USA) and "Trekker" (UK) ; to name a few.
 In
the 1960s the West German Army commissioned VW to produce a lightweight
robust and easy to maintain utility vehicle with off road performance.
VW virtually repeated the design philosophy of the wartime KDF Kubelwagen.
The Thing was a rear engines, rear wheel drive
Jeep based on the type 1 and came with a 1500cc type 2 aircooled engine.
Ground clearance came from reduction gears at the rear and torsion bar
front suspension, with redesigned torsion arms. It had all round drum
brakes (from the type 3) and 14 inch wheels from the type 2.
The vehicle was strictly utilitarian, but efficient. The Canvas roof could be easily folded away, the front windscreen could be folded down and the 4 doors could be simply removed if necessary. The two rear seats can be folded down to provide rear storage space, and the front dash unclipped and hinged down to access the cars electrics.
 Production
started in 1969 at the type 2 factory at Hanover and German production
continued until 1978 with a total of over 26,000 German type 181s. The
181 was only sold as a RHD car in Britain in 1975, when Nigel Purden won
a competition to name the vehicle ; winning with the name "Trekker"
; a name only used in the UK. From 1976 kits were assembled in the VW
Mexico plant with over 44,000 assembled as well as a further 13,500 built
in Mexico when production was moved from Germany from 1978 to 1980. In
these last 2 years of production over 6,000 kits were also assembled in
Indonesia.
A total of over 90,000 181s were made, well over 60% for the North American market where it was sold as the "Thing" and appealed to the Baby Boomer market as cheap fun transport. The Mexican models from 1976 can be easily distinguished by their "elephants feet" rear light assembly (as on late model Beetles) and the inclusion of electronic fuel injection.
The UK has a Type 181 club who are present at
most national shows.
VW Iltis
The Iltis was last features back in April's
Wheelspin, but since we are dealing with military vehicles, and since
I've come across more information ; here it is again.
In the 1970s (not the 1960s as previously stated)
the German Army was again looking for a utility vehicle to replace the
type 181. They specified a vehicle that was light, compact, able to be
lifted by helicopter, able to ford shallow rivers and be capable of 2
wheel drive at 120 km/h and full off road 4 wheel drive.
By 1977 trials were carried out between Volkswagens
prototype EA110 and the Mercedes Gelanderwagen. The Bundeswehr (German
Army) chose the EA110 which went into production in 1978 as the VW Type
183 Iltis (Polecat). The Mercedes "G" went on to be built by
Mercedes and Steyr Daimler Puch and was successfully sold to both military
and civilian markets.
The Iltis was built at the Audi works at Ingolstadt,
a total of nearly 9,000 were built for the German army, airforce and marines.
It had 5 a speeds gearbox, with an especially low off road gear, with
both 2 wheel and 4 wheel drive available in all gears. Both rear and front
differentials could be separately locked, it had front and rear wishbone
suspension and 16" wheels.
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| A Canadian Army Itlis |
The body was basically a sealed steel bathtub with no doors, attached to a ladder frame chassis as the Type 2 Transporters. The body also had full front and side crash protection and foam filled fuel tank. Strictly a practical vehicle, it had storage compartments in the sides of the engine compartment and in various body cavities. Like the Type 181, the canvas hood was easily folded away, the windscreen could be folded flat and the rear seats hinged forward to give yet more storage space. Military versions had 24 volt electrics and option gun racks, auxiliary generators etc.
In 1981 some civilian versions were built, but
with such short production runs, it was a costly civilian vehicle, being
comparable in price to the BMW 500 series. It did have carpets and head
restraints though.
A major triumph for VW came in 1980 when four Iltis's were entered in the gruelling Paris to Dakaar rally, they came 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 9th. Manufacture ceased in Germany in 1982 and all tooling and manufacturing rights were sold to Bombardier Inc. of Canada. These have been made in steady numbers since 1983 for the Canadian Army but no longer wear the VW badge. Some of these have returned to Europe with the Canadian Army, peace-keeping in Bosnia. The Canadian Army have also sold many to civilians in Canada.
The VW Country Buggy
Not a military vehicle at all, but the country
buggy shares much of its off road characteristics and engineering philosophy
with the wartime Kubelwagen and the post war type 181.
The Country Buggy was wholly designed and manufactures
by Volkswagen Australia. Manufacture was begun in 1967 and between 1968
and 1969 only 1956 were sold to the Australian and New Zealand markets,
with a further 400 left hand drive vehicles being exported in kit form
to the Philippines, where it was called the Sakbayan "country vehicle".
 The
Buggy was built on a standard Australian type 1 base, and like the Kubelwagen
has reduction (from the type 2) gears mounted on the rear wheels to give
it ground clearance, but the Buggy had standard torsion arm Beetle front
suspension, with type 2 kingpins to give the front the same ground clearance.
It had drum brakes, rear wheel drive and 15 inch wheels.
Very much a bare bones car, the body was built up out of basic flat folded sheet metal, unfortunately where the box sides were spot welded to the front bulkhead created a weak point on these cars. It had no side doors, no roof (a canvas or fibreglass roof were options) and came with two front seats and a rear storage area. There were no heat exchangers fitted, but it had two exhaust mufflers, with the two pipes exiting through the rear body.
The dash had only the bear minimum of dials,
and the front bonnet contained the fuel tank and spare wheel; the Country
Buggy had no fuel gauge ; instead relying a reserve tap like the earliest
post war Beetles. The front headlights were the standard pre 1967 Beetle
design. Also, like earlier type 1s, the Buggy had 6 volt electrics.
One of these Australian Buggies was sent to
Wolfsburg in 1968, but it is not known if it had any bearing in the development
of the Type 181 "Thing" there. Back in Australia the Buggy couldn't
have entered production at a worst time. It was basically filling a gap
as production of the Beetle was being wound down in Australia and replaced
by German imports. VW Australia itself was being folded up by Volkswagen
AG and its manufacturing given over to Datsun. The Buggy was never really
marketed, suffered early quality problems and died alongside VW Australia
in 1969.
A Philippines built Buggy once made the London
to Manila run, over 53,000 km. There are a probably over 100 still in
existence, in Australia and the Philippines ; but their rugged lives mean
there can't be many in original condition left.
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