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The Volkswagen Type 181 is a
two-wheel drive
Two-wheel-drive (2WD) denotes Motor vehicle, vehicles with a Powertrain, drivetrain that allows two wheels to be driven, and receive Engine power, power and torque from the engine, simultaneously.
Four-wheeled vehicles
For four-wheeled vehicles ( ...
, four-door,
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
, manufactured and marketed by
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
from 1968 until 1983. Originally developed for the
West German Army, the Type 181 also entered the civilian market as the Kurierwagen (“courier car”) in West Germany, the Trekker (RHD Type 182) in the United Kingdom, the Thing in the United States (1973–74), the Safari in Mexico and South America, and Pescaccia in Italy. Civilian sales ended after model year 1980.
Manufactured in
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin.
Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...
, West Germany (1968–74),
Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
, West Germany (1974–75),
Emden, West Germany (1975–78),
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
, Mexico (1970–80), and
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Indonesia (1972–80), the Type 181 shared its mechanicals with Volkswagen's
Type 1 (Beetle) and the pre-1968
Volkswagen Microbus
The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US), Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the G ...
, its floor pan with the Type 1
Karmann Ghia
The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is a sports car marketed in 2+2 coupe (1955–1974) and 2+2 convertible (1957–1974) body styles by Volkswagen. Internally designated the Type 14, the Karmann Ghia combined the chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1 ( ...
, and its concept with the company's
Kübelwagen, which had been used by the German military during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
All four doors were removable and interchangeable, the windshield folded flat, and the convertible roof could be removed for ''al fresco'' driving. The spartan interior featured vinyl covered bucket seats, painted sheet metal, drain holes and perforated rubber mats. A
fiberglass hardtop and trunk-mounted auxiliary heater were offered as individual options.
History
During the 1960s, several European governments began cooperating on development of a vehicle known as the
Europa Jeep
The Europa Jeep was a multinational military vehicle project that was ultimately abandoned before it could enter production.
During the 1960s, several European governments began cooperating on development of a vehicle known as the Europa Jeep, ...
, a lightweight, amphibious
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
vehicle that could be mass-produced for use by various national military and government groups.
Development of the vehicle proved time-consuming, however, and the West German government was in need of a limited number of light, inexpensive, durable transport vehicles that could fulfill their basic needs while the Europa Jeep was being developed and put into production.
Although Volkswagen had been approached during the 1950s about building such a vehicle, and had subsequently passed on the proposition, the then-current management of the company saw the project as having some amount of potential as a consumer vehicle; Mexican customers were asking for something that could handle rural roads better than the Type 1, which was a large seller in Mexico at the time, and the popularity of VW-based
dune buggies within the U.S. made executives think that a durable, fun, off-road-capable vehicle would become attractive to many buyers.
VW could keep cost to a minimum and thus maximize profitability by using existing parts.
Like the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era
Type 82 Kübelwagen, the Type 181 used mechanical parts and a rear-engine platform,
manual transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...
and a
flat-4
A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...
engine derived from that of the Type 1.
The floorpans came from the Type 1
Karmann Ghia
The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is a sports car marketed in 2+2 coupe (1955–1974) and 2+2 convertible (1957–1974) body styles by Volkswagen. Internally designated the Type 14, the Karmann Ghia combined the chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1 ( ...
, which had a wider floorpan than the Beetle.
Rear swing axle suspension with reduction gearing from the discontinued split-screen
Volkswagen Transporter
The Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its seventh generation, refers to a series of vans produced for over 70 years and marketed worldwide.
The T series is now considered an official Volkswagen Group aut ...
was used until 1973, when it was replaced with double-jointed axles used by Porsche and IRS semi-trailing arm setup as used on the 1303 and US-spec Beetles.
Civilian sales began in mainland Europe and Mexico during 1971; in the U.S. in 1972; and briefly in Britain in 1975, where it failed to sell well and was dropped fairly quickly.
The model was dropped from the American lineup for 1975 as it failed to meet new, stricter US safety standards. The Type 181 was reclassified as a passenger vehicle, and thus subject to stricter safety standards. The Windshield Intrusion Rule of the 1975 DOT standard called for a greater distance between the front seat occupants and the front window glass.
The
Europa Jeep
The Europa Jeep was a multinational military vehicle project that was ultimately abandoned before it could enter production.
During the 1960s, several European governments began cooperating on development of a vehicle known as the Europa Jeep, ...
was the result of a
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
plan to have a vehicle whereby each European NATO makers all combined to build a light-duty patrol vehicle.
The Volkswagen 181 was only supposed to a fill in until the time that the Europa Jeep was ready. From 1968 until 1979, over 50,000 Type 181s were delivered to the NATO forces.
By 1979 the Europa Jeep project had fallen apart completely and was abandoned, and the West German government began supplementing its consumption of 181s with the new front-engined
Type 183 Iltis.
Despite the West German government's switch to the Type 183, European and Mexican sales of the civilian 181 continued through 1980, and several organizations, including NATO, continued to purchase military-spec Type 181 units through 1983, finding their reliability and low purchase and maintenance costs attractive.
Technology and performance
![Volkswagen Thing (orange)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Volkswagen_Thing_%28orange%29.jpg)
Military 181s attain a higher
ride height
Ride height or ground clearance is the amount of space between the base of an automobile tire and the lowest point of the automobile (typically the axle); or, more properly, to the shortest distance between a flat, level surface, and the lowest p ...
and lower effective gearing by using reduction boxes, a form of
portal axles. 181s without reduction boxes feature a transmission similar to the Beetle but with a slower gearing by use of different ring and pinion gears and have stronger, more flexible CV axles. Most mechanical parts are interchangeable with those of other VW models. Optional dual oil bath air cleaners increased filtering ability in dusty environments, and low noise ignition systems were fitted to military cars to be used for radio communication.
The engine is a 4-cylinder rear mounted petrol engine.
See also
*
Citroën Méhari
The Citroën Méhari is a lightweight recreational and utility vehicle, manufactured and marketed by French carmaker Citroën over 18 years in a single generation. Built in front-wheel (1968–1988) and four-wheel drive (1980–1983) var ...
*
BMC Mini Moke
*
Volkswagen Iltis
The Volkswagen Type 183, more commonly known as the Iltis (German for polecat), is a military vehicle built by Volkswagen for use by the German military. The Iltis was formerly built under licence in Canada by Bombardier Inc.
Although the two ...
*
Fiat Ghia Jolly
References
Further reading
*Schreier, Konrad F. Jr., ''ed''. ''VW Kubelwagen Military Portfolio 1940–1990''.
External links
Type 181 toys from 1972 until 2009VW Thing Sales BrochuresRetrieved from www.dastank.com on 23 June 2009
{{Volkswagen (North America) timeline 1950-1979
181
Rear-engined vehicles
Cars powered by boxer engines
Cold War military vehicles of Germany
Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s