By 1952 an ambulance and a pick up truck had been added to the line up, and finally the sought after crew-cab pick up. However, for us the most important variation was of course the Westfalia camper version, started in 1950. Built for VW by Westfalia-werke in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, this coachbuilding company added the luxuries to the basic vans, including -
Various Foldout seat arrangements for sleeping
Birch plywood interior panels
Laminated plywood cabinetry for storage
Ice box or cold-box
Sink (some models)
Water storage and pump
Electrical hookups
Curtains
Screened Jalousie (louvred) Windows
Laminated folding table
At Vanilla Splits, we've taken this principle as our touchstone, and made sure all our vans are restored with the original concepts in mind. The features are definitely from this decade though, with ipod connectors and DVD players as standard.
In late 1967, the Splittie was given a thorough make over, and the T2 was introduced. This second generation Type 2 lost its distinctive split front windshield, and was slightly larger and considerably heavier than its predecessor. Nicknamed the Bay, after the panoramic front window, it introduced many new features to the iconic van, and even to this day is still in production in Brazil. We have three Bays, all fitted with Pop Top roofs to increase the headroom and offer additional sleeping space. Being slightly larger than the Splitties, they're ideal for families with kids or a couple looking for a little more room to stretch.
