The history and evolution of the Volkswagen Transporter

by David Kemp Professional Writer

Volkswagen is a German car manufacturer that managed to provide the entire world with high quality vehicles at affordable prices. Volkswagen has a rich legacy as a reputable car manufacturer. This legacy has been going on for many decades. Volkswagen Transporter belongs to this huge legacy. Volkswagen Transporter became a legacy of its own.

Facts about the Transporter series

VW Transporter is family of vans that have been produced and sold worldwide for more than 60 years. Transporter family or series is currently in its sixth generation. Those six generations are known for short with the letter T and the number of generation for example T1, T2, T3 and so on. All the generations are also followed by Type 2. Although there is a rough competition between many reputable van manufacturers around the world, the Transporter series has accomplished huge success worldwide. The Transporter family became the best-selling van series ever. Over the years the Transporter family has presented wide variety of vehicles. Those vehicles include vans, minivans, campervans, pick-ups and mini buses.

The Transporter series over the years

In order to know the history and evolution story of the Transporter series, we need to go back in time to the early 1950s. This was when the success story began. The story of the six generations takes place in 1950- till present. Here is a historic overview of the Transporter series:

1- Transporter 1, Type 2 (1950-1967)

This is the first generation of the Transporter family. This iconic model was known in different parts of the world in various names such as the "microbus" and "minibus"

2- Transporter 2, Type 2 ( 1969-1979)

Volkswagen introduced this second generation to the world in late 1967. This model was a bit larger than the first and didn't have the famous spilt windshield.

3- Transporter 3, Type 2 ( 1979-1992)

This third generation has also gained different identities around the world such as the Vanagon in America; Caravelle in Europe, Microbus in South Africa, This generation was also bigger and stronger than the second generation.

4- Transporter 4, Transporter ( 1990-2003)

This generation witnessed revolutionary updates that took the van family to a whole new level. The vans of this generation included water cooled engine and front wheel drive.

5- Transporter 5, Transporter (2003-2016)

The fifth generation was launched in October 2002 but went in full production in April 2003 to replace the previous generation. This workhorse was available in more than 100 combinations and many variants. This generation is actually divided into 2 phases or sub-generations:

· Pre facelift 2003-2009:

This model is the current variant of the famous T platform.

· Facelift 2009-2016:

The Facelift model was launched in September 2009. This model was known commercially under for labels; Transporter, Caravelle, Multivan and California. This model is a multiple award winner because it has many amazing features such as Side Lane Assist and 4motion four-wheel drive.

6- Transporter 6, Transporter (2015-present)

This model is so far the newest and latest member of the Transporter family. It is famous for super comfortable seats and versatility.

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