THE VW TREKKER – A CELEBRATION

The year is 1974, Volkswagen GB has initiated a competitor to re-name their latest import, the 182. The winner was a Mr. Nigel Purden of the Midlands with his suggestion of ‘Trekker’ – and it would be fair to say it was virtually sans rivals in the UK.

VW created the original 181 in the late 1960s as a 2WD 4-door utility powered by the Beetle’s 1,584cc engine. The floor pan derived from the Karmann Ghia Type 1 and the rear swing axle suspension came from the recently discontinued split-screen Type 2. Sales to military authorities commenced in 1969, with a special equipment list that included headlamp blackout covers, four rifle mounts, special lighting and a starting handle.

The 181 would serve in the forces of the former West Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Morocco, Netherlands and Turkey. By 1971 it was available to civilian buyers in Mexico, where it was known as the Safari. It proved so popular that VW built the 181 in their Puebla factory from 1970 – 1980. European sales to private customers also began in 1971, followed by the USA in 1972.

The American-market 181s were sold as ‘Thing’ (a tail-end hippy era name if ever there was one) and offered in the groovy paint shades of ‘Pumpkin Orange’, ‘Sunshine Yellow’, or ‘Blizzard White’. John Lamm of Motor Trend thought: “It can’t be just a station wagon, a four-wheel-drive pickup, or a dune buggy, so it walks a fine line in between.”

By the 1975 model year, VW USA ceased imports, as the 181 no longer complied with local safety regulations – and it was around this time that the Trekker saga commenced. In addition to the LHD versions, VW also built a RHD model named the 182. As the story goes, a cancelled order from the Mexican plant resulted in their being sent to the UK.

And so Volkswagen GB took delivery of 300 182s. The re-branded Trekker sold for £1,996 with a limited-slip differential costing another £120. The interior décor is best described as ‘minimal’ with perforated rubber mats covering the floor and removable side screens that rattled in the wind. Competitors, as previously noted, were virtually zero; the last British-built Mini Mokes dated from 1968, while the Matra Rancho lay some years in the future. Meanwhile, anyone who needed four-wheel-drive would have opted for a Land-Rover

Alas, the great British public did not take to a very versatile convertible with a folding windscreen and four removal doors. By the end of 1975, the Trekker was no more, with only 71 finding a home. 181 production continued until 1983, and today survivors are much sought after. For who could resist a four-seater, four-door drophead that is now rarer than a Rolls-Royce Corniche?