1961 Volkswagen Transporter

Nothing embodies the go-anywhere spirit of the Volkswagen better than the Volkswagen Microbus.

While visiting the VW factory in 1947, Dutch car importer Ben Pon came up with the idea for the Bus as we know it today, but it wasn't until early 1948 that his concept was presented to the new general director, Heinrich Nordhoff, a couple of months after he took control of the factory from the British. Nordhoff possessed a strong will to make positive changes, 'not in a wild kind of optimism,' as he put it, 'but with the courage to do what has never been tried before, to take - whate the Americans call - a calculated risk.' This is exactly what he did.

Officially launched on November 12, 1949, the Transporter line did not go on sale to the general public until March 1950. The most outstanding attribute of the Bus - other than its creation of a market where there was none before - is its construction. For a commercial vehicle to have both chassis and body welded together was a very advanced idea, especially during a time when the next best thing on the market was the Morris J-Type van and Citroen's Type H van, both oddly shaped and utilitarian at best.

Throughout the '50s and into the '60s most major changes to the Transporter line were cosmetic: the addition of taller bumper overrides for the American-spec models, two brake lights instead of a single center light and - most significantly - in 1959, the 30 hp engine was upgraded to a 44 hp engine, somewhat improving acceleration.

Source - Gooding & Company