Swiss presence at the Bulli Parade
In 1947, Dutch VW importer Ben Pon sketched out the idea of a VW commercial vehicle while visiting Wolfsburg. The rest is history: Around twelve million Transporters have been built to date. Fans - including Swiss - celebrated the anniversary with a big party in Wolfsburg, where the Bulli was produced until 1956. Around 1000 VW Transporters from all over the world of the models T1 [...]
Around 1000 VW Transporters from all over the world of the models T1 to the current T6 met from August 3 to 6 at the Allersee near Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony (D), to celebrate themselves. For most participants, the Transporter or "Bulli" is more than just a car. It is, often maintained over generations, part of the family.
Second VW model ever
In 1948, the first prototype of the VW Transporter was built. Series production of the first model began in 1950. Since 2015, the sixth generation of the T6 has been in production. The common abbreviation "Bulli" was one of nine suggested names for the van. There is no record of how it came about. It is thought to be a combination of bus and delivery van or a description of the car's bulky shape. The technology of the T1 was largely taken over from the VW Beetle: Rear-wheel drive with an air-cooled 4-cylinder boxer engine, which initially produced 25 hp. Of the first generation alone, well over 1.9 million vehicles were produced up to 1967, and of the successor generation built up to 1979
T2 even 2.5 million.
Ten hours to the party
All generations of the van were on display at the Bulli Summerfestival, some in their original condition, others heavily tinkered with. The large proportion of travel and motorhome conversions, for example from Westfalia, was striking.
A number of vans of the oldest design also traveled from Switzerland. Like Andreas Krebs and his partner Kirsten Peter. Andreas was even awarded a trophy for the "oldest team": he and his T1 are 121 years old together. Considering that the T1 manages just under 80 km/h, a good ten hours of pure driving time had to be calculated for the well over 730 kilometers from Switzerland - without air conditioning and cruise control. Well, if that's not love?
