
On the outside, the noble van shines in a harmonious two-tone paint finish with appealing aluminium decorative trim and front bumper. The differences to the conventional station wagon are anything but unadorned: for an initial surcharge of almost DM 3,000, the customer gets an exclusive bouquet of additional equipment. The media even dubbed the stand the "Temple of the Volkswagen", and the concept set the trend for future exhibitions.Īnother highlight is the world premiere of the new people carrier, which Volkswagen simply calls the "special edition" of the VW minibus when it goes on sale. Volkswagen reproduces parts of the Beetle assembly line, and visitors are captivated by an almost surreal light installation that has never been seen before. Volkswagen takes this opportunity to present the new vehicles on a breath-taking 1,350 m2 stand. Want to know more about the different models of VW Bus? Check out this article.Frankfurt am Main 19 April 1951 - The IAA opens its doors again for the first time since the war. To bring it into the modern age, they have teamed with company eClassics to create an electric version of the old classic! It still looks retro, but creates zero emissions and runs like a dream. In fact, VW intends to keep the T1 Samba eternally remembered. With such an iconic design, we don’t doubt it will still be cherished for the next 70 years to come. Yet, people of all ages can recognize the VW T1 Samba. 12 US presidents have come and gone, as has Top of the Pops, and there’s an entire generation that doesn’t even know what the first iPhone looked like. Of course, this makes it a very valuable vehicle for collectors and as far as we know, none have ever dared convert it for Buslife.ħ0 long years on, and the world is almost unrecognizable from the year the first VW Bus made its debut. In total, about 100,000 VW T1 Samba’s were produced between 19.
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This included reducing the number of windows to 21 and some versions were even developed without the soft sliding roof. In 1954, Volkswagen decided to take on this name officially for this special T1.īy 1967, when production of the Samba was discontinued, it had gone through several minor changes to the original design. Originally it was simply named the “minibus special edition”, but instead it has retained the moniker “Samba”, although the origins of that nickname remain unknown. Photo by: Autowelt BachmannĪlthough the bus oozed originality, perhaps the most appealing aspect was the luxury it provided for anyone looking to take a tour. Nobody had seen anything quite like it before, and nobody has seen anything quite like it since. However, what really set it apart from the rest was its 23 windows, including 4 skylights on either side. The world instantly fell in love with its two-tone paintwork, chunky front bumper, and aluminum trimming. Upon its release, the bus shook the transport industry, as if the wheel had been reinvented all over again. In fact, up to $302,500 USD (thus far) to be exact.

These days, people are willing to pay a pretty penny to get their hands on one. Although it’s old, it has only increased in popularity. Since it first went on sale on April 19th, 1951 for around $2,200 USD, the T1 Samba has aged like a fine wine. This week, we celebrated the life and legend of the VW T1 Samba on its 70th anniversary.
