It's the end of the road for VW campervans: Safety rule changes in Brazil stop production of 1960s iconic vehicle

Brazil the last place in the world still making the motoring icon



Volkswagen said production will end on December 31 because of new vehicle safety regulations in the country

Rules state every vehicle must have air bags and anti-lock braking systems

Commemorative special series with a production run of 600 will be made



More than 10 million vans have been produced worldwide since the van was introduced in Germany 63 years ago, 1.5 million of those in Brazil



It carried hippies through the Sixties before becoming a workhorse across the developing world.

But the long journey of the VW camper van is finally coming to an end.

Brazil is the last place in the world still producing the vehicle known by aficionados as the ‘bus’, but Volkswagen has said production will end there on December 31.

More than 10million of them have been made since the model was introduced in Germany 63 years ago. In Brazil, 1.5 million have been produced since 1957.

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Last journey: Production of the iconic VW campervan, a restored model from 1984 pictured above, will stop in December this year because of new health and safety regulations

Change: Production of the van, a 1972 model pictured above, will stop in Brazil due to new regulations which state all vehicles produced in the country must have airbags and anti-lock braking systems

Icon: The van, a collection of some from across its 63 years in production above, has somewhat of a cult status with motoring fans

Work of art: Some owners customize their vans, such as Brazilian Marcelo Serpa who hand painted a colourful mural on his 2007 model

The vans were called the Type 2, because they were the second type to be offered by car maker Volkswagen, the first being the Beetle.

In Britain and the US during the 60s and 70s, partly because it was cheap, the Type 2 became linked with youth culture.

Fans of the machine said its mechanical failures only reinforced its charm and, because its engine was so simple, it was easy to fix, imparting a deeper sense of ownership.

Die-hard British enthusiasts still gather every year for the annual VW Festival near Leeds.

Fans include actor Martin Clunes who owns two campers – a rare black one with a bay windscreen, and a navy and white split-screen model dating from 1977. He said: ‘There’s something so self-contained about a camper. Driving one is like putting on a comfortable pair of old slippers.’

Formula 1 racing driver Jenson Button has owned two – a red and white model from 1956 and a gold-coloured 1970 Volkswagen Kombi.



Flower power: The van cemented its status as an icon in the sixties, when it was used by hippies to travel around the country

Peace and love: The camper van became so popular with young people because it was cheap, practical and easy to fix

Beach: Due to their size and practicality, the vans are popular with surfers

THROUGH THE AGES: THE ICONIC VW CAMPERVAN

The original vans were called Type 2, following on from Volkswagen’s first offering the Type 1, which is better known nowadays as the Beetle.

VW has produced more than 10 million Volkswagen camper vans globally since the model was introduced 63 years ago in Germany.

In Brazil it’s known as the ‘Kombi’, an abbreviation for the German ‘Kombinationsfahrzeug’ that loosely translates as ‘cargo-passenger van’.

Production in the UK stopped in 1967 but continued in South America, and Brazil is the only country in the world still manufacturing Type 2 campervans.

The van made an appearance on Bob Dylan and Beach Boys record album covers.

Steve Jobs is said to have sold his van in the 1970s to buy a circuit board as he built a computer that helped launch Apple.

The vehicle became a must-have on the California surf scene because its cavernous interior was perfect for carrying boards.

Volkswagen means ‘people’s car’ in German and is currently the third largest carmaker in the world.

The company was founded in 1937 in Germany to provide an affordable new car for the masses. One firm will fit an engine from a Porsche 911 to a van for £127,000 Vans that cost around £850 in the 1960s can now fetch as much as £13,000







Jamie Oliver was less impressed. In 2005, he drove around Europe in a 1959 Samba version of the machine for the Channel 4 television series Jamie’s Great Escape.

He said: ‘To be honest, it was a complete pain. It was towing a heavy trailer, so perhaps it’s not surprising that it broke down several times.’

In poorer regions like Latin American and Africa, the vehicle has continued to be made long after production ended in the UK in 1967.

In Brazil its uses are perhaps not as romantic– it is used by the postal service to haul mail, by the army to transport soldiers, and by funeral directors to carry corpses.

Brazilians also convert their vans into rolling food carts, setting up on street corners for working-class lunchtime crowds.

Nuptials: The vans are even sometimes used as wedding carriages, pictured above

Novel: Some VW owners use their vans for other uses - such as this pasta van in Brazil

Many uses: Jorge Hanashiro and his wife Ana sell meat and pastries from their green 1974 van

Fast food: People dine at the Nakombi restaurant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which features a VW inspired sushi bar

Production in Germany was halted in 1979 because the van no longer met European safety requirements.

Now safety regulations that come in to force from next year mandating that every vehicle in Brazil must have air bags and anti-lock braking systems will stop production there.

A commemorative special series with a production run of only 600 units will be the last VW camper vans to be made.

VW unveiled a new version of the camper van at the 2011 Geneva Motor show, but it never went into production.