So there I was, walking down a dusty road in Mexico, when I saw a beautiful blue piece of automotive history: a Volkswagen Thing. Yes, you read that right, once built a big off-roader on the Beetle chassis called the Thing. But as rad as this retro rig is, the perfect “thing” for your next vintage vehicle expedition might be its successor, the.
The Volkswagen Thing was built with spare parts
It was the year 1968: The Beatles were on the radio, playing in all cinemas and the Volkswagen Bug had become a cult in the United States. The Beetle, officially called the “Type 1”, was also an extremely popular subcompact in countries such as Mexico. So when NATO’s ill-conceived project to invent a “Europa Jeep” amphibious light patrol car stalled (spoiler: it would never start again), he turned to VW to build an interim military transport.
between 1970 and 1980. Despite the rough condition of this VW, looking at it made me daydream about an off-road jungle expedition to some undiscovered Mayan pyramids. But the truth is, the Type 181 would have been the wrong VW for the job.
Volkswagen has improved the Thing with its Iltis 4×4
Volkswagen has dubbed its new generation military Jeep Type 183, unsurprisingly. But he was also nicknamed “Iltis”. The word is German for a local predator, also known as a skunk. This ride, it shared an advanced 4WD chassis with the Audi 100, according to .
The improved drivetrain was all Iltis needed to achieve off-road greatness. Indeed, this 4×4 won the 1980 Paris Dakar. Above all, the Iltis kept the offbeat styling of the Thing. The Iltis is just the thing for your next retro rally.
Next, read or watch Doug DeMuro reviewing the Volkswagen Thing in the video below:
