VW Camper Vans

Volkswagen UK Company was established in 1952, the motor car is an icon of the 20th Century, and few car manufacturers have produced so many legendary cars as Volkswagen. The Beetle, the best-selling car of all time; the Volkswagen bus or VW camper van, a symbol of a generation; and the Golf, a modern masterpiece, are automobiles that have become an unforgettable part of the cultural and personal lives of millions.

VW (Volkswagen) camper vans otherwise known as a Volkswagen bus were built nearly sixty years ago and is now becoming one of the great vehicles of all times. Whether you are eighteen or eighty five the VW camper van represents a certain way of life and will always turn people's heads and make them think they wished they had one.

What started the VW camper vans or VW buses? In 1947, a revolutionary idea of Ben Pon (a Dutch businessman), was presented to VW about building a vehicle based on the design of a so-called plattenwagen (which looked like a push bike with moped engines), however his design would be an oblong transport vehicle that weighed 750 kilos with the cargo being 750 kilos as well, it was designed for internal factory transportation at the Volkswagen plant.

The first two prototypes of the Volkswagen camper vans or buses, then called a VW transporter, were developed by Volkswagen designers based on Pon's idea, however it first had a rectangular cabin which had no curvature at all, and when tested had disappointing results. So Pon's proposal of a well curved cabin which featured an aerodynamic shape was an excellent step forward. The development of this idea was left alone for a time.

It was not until a year after that this idea was developed, when Heinrich Nordhoff (the then new chief of Volkswagen) and Alfred Haesner (technical manager) decided to work with Pon and develop his idea for Volkswagen. This simple design of a transport-van soon became a blueprint for the future and the development of the famous VW camper vans or VW bus.

Today, even after about sixty years from when the VW camper vans were first developed, its improvement and enhancement throughout the early years of its manufacturing, and the coming out of much more modern and innovated cars from VW, the VW camper vans remains to be an unbeatable classic that still catches the eye and an icon of great automobiles in history.