Volkswagen T2b Firefighters Car COBI 24622 - Action Town 1:35

Did you know:

• While rusty metal scraps called Barkas raced down East German roads, Volkswagen was already working on the second generation of the legendary Transporter. However, its origins must be traced back to the Netherlands.
• The foundation of the legendary Transporter was laid by Dutch Volkswagen dealer Ben Pon, who noticed supply carts on the assembly lines with the loading bed at the front and the driver's cab behind the cargo. Post-war Europe lacked vehicles of all types, so the enterprising B. Pon started offering these supply carts to his customers. The interest was enormous, but Dutch authorities refused to approve a vehicle where the driver sat behind the cargo. However, this did not deter Ben. He cut up a period leaflet, pasted an image of the cab in front of the loading area onto white paper, and headed to Volkswagen.
• VW management reviewed and approved the concept. Thus, a legend was born—still in production today in its seventh generation.
• Mass production of the T2 began in the summer of 1967. Volkswagen couldn’t keep up with the demand. In the first months after launch, the manufacturer recorded tens of thousands of orders. Production capacity had to be increased to 270 units per day. For comparison: East Germany’s Barkas produced in 30 years as many units as VW did in just 1.5 years.
• The vehicle’s construction was simple and reliable. Over time, the standard van was joined by a flatbed truck, Kombi, minibus, Caravelle, ambulance, or the Samba version with a retractable canvas roof.
• A special version for fire departments was equipped with a blue beacon, powerful reverse lights, reinforced electrical wiring, and—for safety reasons—a padded dashboard.
• Special equipment included a map lamp, Telefunken radio station, electromagnetic interference suppression device, and of course a fire extinguisher mounted on the partition between the second and third row of seats.
• The last T2 generation vehicles rolled off the production line in mid-1979, replaced by the third generation T3. But that’s another story.
• A total of 1,280,000 T2 units were produced in various versions.

Technical specifications:

• length 4505 mm, width 1720 mm, height 1960 mm
• curb weight 1285 kg
• petrol engine Boxer 4, displacement 1600 cm³, output 35 kW
• number of gears 4 forward + 1 reverse
• fuel tank capacity 45 l
• maximum speed 110 km/h
• fuel consumption 10 l/100 km
• number of seats 2 – 7

Heinz Diekmann – Fire Station Chief, Bonn, 1980:

"The Transporter was a vehicle equipped with everything needed by a commanding officer during an intervention. The duty operator always placed a detailed map of the operational area and a map of energy nodes in special pockets in the door. A dedicated map lamp was used to read them. When we needed to shut off the gas supply or cut electricity, we always knew what to do."