You may have heard that Volkswagen is ending production of their ever-popular Beetle -- a classic. Which got me thinking about off-road vehicles that Volkswagen has produced, primarily for the military. Fortunately, a number of these classics still exist and are today owned by thousands of off-road enthusiasts. Plus, today we have a new kind of Beetle: the Touareg.

The Beetle That Spawned Many Children
Did you know that it was the Beetle, in its original form, that served as the prototype for many future generations of Volkswagens? The German military was perhaps most notorious for doing this. Using the Beetle as their model, they were able to create the ultimate off-road vehicle to best meet their needs. The adaptation they created during World War II, was known as the Kubelwagen (Type 82). It was similar to the Willys Jeep, but it was rear-engined, 4x2, rear-wheel drive, and significantly lighter. 

First Bucket Seat Car
The Kubelwagen (which means "bucket seat car") was designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche and his son, Ferry, as a "buggy" -- purely for fun and leisure. However, in December 1939, after the invasion of Poland, this "fun car" became a military vehicle, when the High German command accepted the first two Kubelwagens modified under the denomination of VW Type 82. After a year of rigorous testing under some of the most extreme conditions, the Type 82 outperformed even heavier 4x4's, and by late 1940, a thousand units of the Type 82 drove off the assembly line headed for war. The Kubelwagen saw five years of production as a military vehicle. Approximately 60,000 were built as military vehicles.

"The combat experience demonstrates that the vehicle is of easy maintenance, economic to operate, of resistant construction and of cheap production. It was faster than Jeep and had space for four passengers." 

Today, the Kubelwagen represents the exceptional robustness of the Volkswagen, both in wartime and beyond. In all, approximately thirty-five million Kubelwagens were manufactured as civillian vehicles. The Kubelwagen paved the way for future adaptations of the original Beetle, including the the following 4x4 models: Schwimmwagen, the Iltis, and the most popular among today's enthusiasts: The Thing.

• The Swimming Car
  The Schwimmwagen ("swimming car"), a four wheel drive vehicle that was capable of driving both on land and in water, was built for amphibious assault. Its top speed on land was 50 mph, and top speed in the water was 6 mph. Only 30 were initially produced from 1939-1940 as the Type 128, before the Schwimmwagen was further developed into a smaller, faster machine. Those built from 1942 to 1944 were known as Type 166. Total production was just over 14,000, and less than 150 are known to exist today. 
  

• A Car Of Many Armies
  The Volkswagen Iltis, also known as Type 183, grew out of a 1960's project for "a European Jeep with amphibious capabilities". When this fell through, the German army built a non-amphibious 4x4 adaptation known as the Iltis. The German army used the Iltis throughout the 1970s and 80s, and the Canadian army has been utilizing it since the early 1980s. The Iltis was built from 1978 to 1982, with approximately 9,500 total vehicles in production for the civilian market.
  

• Oooh Oooh That Thing!
  Originally produced as an inexpensive light reconnaissance vehicle for the German army (from late 1969 to early 1980), the VW Type 181 was introduced in the U.S. in late 1973 as The Thing. It was a utilitarian vehicle designed for both work and play. It was imported to the U.S. market for only two years (1973-1974), however, Type 181's continued to be built and sold in Mexico and Brazil for several years thereafter. While the total number of Type 181's produced was approximately 70,000, barely 30,000 were sold in the U.S.

The 4x4 Beetle
In the early 1940's, Volkswagen also made (in very limited quantities) the Komanderwagen, which was basically a 4x4 Beetle. Total production barely reached 700, including two built out of spare parts at the end of the war. The only remaining Kommandeurwagen is in the Wolfsburg museum from the two that were built under the British at the end of 1946 from what was at hand. 

The Volkswagen Beetle has come full circle, for today we have the VW Touareg -- Volkswagen's first official four wheel drive SUV for the mainstream public. Touareg is yet another example of how the original VW Beetle has been mutated to "fit" into a different environment. Today's drivers are calling for more rugged go-anywhere vehicles that are also filled with creature comforts and are fun to drive. Touareg fits the bill. As Volkswagen describes it, "Touareg is a luxury sedan with a mountain-goat attitude."


SOURCES: 
Joseph Roitberg
Northeast VW Thing Association
Kubel Treffen South
H.L. Spoelstra