The Volkswagen Typ 87, also known as the ''Kommandeurswagen'', is a World War II,

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 ...

version of the

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

. It was produced from 1941 to 1944 by the Volkswagen plant, primarily for high officers of the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

'' (German armed forces). The ''Wehrmacht'' classified the Kommandeurswagen as ''leichter geländegängiger PKW, 4-sitziger, 4-radgetriebener Geländewagen Typ 87''.Mayer, p.34 ("light offroad passenger car, four seat, four-wheel drive offroad vehicle Type 87"). The engine and drive-train, including portal geared wheel hubs, are the same as in the Volkswagen Typ 166 ''Schwimmwagen'' amphibious vehicle. 564 units of the Kommandeurswagen were produced;Mayer, p.33 in November 1946,Mayer, p.47 the Volkswagen plant - by then under British control - produced two more vehicles using spare parts from stores.

Description

The Typ 87 is a two-door offroad saloon. The visual appearance is similar to the ''KdF-Wagen'', because the ''KdF-Wagen'' body was also used for the Typ 87. Due to the 5¼-16 offroad tyres, the wings had to be increased in width. The

running board A running board or footboard is a narrow step fitted under the side doors of a tram ( cable car, trolley, or streetcar in North America), car, or truck. It aids entry, especially into high vehicles, and is typical of vintage trams and cars, w ...

s were also made wider. While the boot of the ''KdF-Wagen'' holds a spare wheel in front of the fuel tank, the Typ 87 has an additional fuel canister instead at the same place. The spare wheel is located on top of the fuel tank, which has a modified filler neck. Chassis and body are connected with screws. By default, the ''Kommandeurswagen'' has a sunroof. Like the VW Typ 166, the Typ 87 has a modified ''KdF-Wagen'' chassis. The backbone tube was increased in diameter to hold the additional

drive shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power and torque and rotation, usually ...

for the front wheels. A

worm and sector Recirculating ball, also known as recirculating ball and nut or worm and sector, is a steering mechanism commonly found in older automobiles, off-road vehicles, and some trucks. Most newer cars use the more economical rack and pinion steering ins ...

steering was used, and the

steering knuckle 300px, Double Wishbone Suspension In automotive suspension, a steering knuckle or upright is that part which contains the wheel hub or spindle, and attaches to the suspension and steering components. The terms ''spindle'' and ''hub'' are someti ...

s were modified to fit driveshafts for the front-wheel drive. The rear axle is equipped with reduction gears, both front and rear axle differentials are lockable. A single disc Fichtel & Sachs K10

dry clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

transmits the torque from the engine to the manual Porsche four-speed (plus reverse) gearbox, which is equipped with an additional offroad gear. The lever that engaged the offroad gear also engaged the front wheel drive. With four wheel drive engaged, the top speed is and the maximum slope climbing angle is 33.75°. The Typ 87 is powered by an air-cooled flat four-cylinder four-stroke

OHV An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

fed by a single

Solex Solex may refer to: * Solex (musician), Dutch musician * Solex Carburetor, a French manufacturer of carburetors and the powered bicycle VéloSoleX * Solex College, a former private for-profit college in Chicago, Illinois * Solex Unit, a fictiona ...

26 VF3 carburettor. It is rated at . Vehicles made for the German

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

were often equipped with tropical equipment which protected the air filter, the carburettor and the electrics from dust;Mayer, p.32 in addition to that, they were fitted with ''Kronprinz'' sand tyres.Mayer, p.31

Technical specifications

References

Bibliography

* Hans-Georg Mayer: ''Der VW-Käfer im Kriege und im militärischen Einsatz danach.'' Band 114 aus der Reihe ''Waffen-Arsenal'', Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Dorheim 1988, . {{WWIIGermanVehicles World War II vehicles of Germany Kübelwagen Rear-engined vehicles Cars powered by boxer engines Military light utility vehicles Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944 Military vehicles of Germany