Lot 316: 1956 Volkswagen Transporter Double Cargo Door

Officially launched on November 12 1949, Volkswagen's Transporter line did not go on sale to the general public until March 1950. The most outstanding attribute - other than its creation of a market where there was none before - is its construction. For a commercial vehicle to have both chassis and body welded together was a very advanced idea, especially during a time when the next best thing available was the Morris J-Type van and Citroen's Type H van, both oddly shaped and utilitarian at best. Throughout the 1950s and into the '60s most of the major changes to the Transporter range were cosmetic. The Type 2 model was also among the first commercial vehicles in which the driver was placed above the front wheels. As such, it started a trend in Europe, with the Ford Transit, among others, quickly copying the concept. In America, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van even went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's similarly horizontally-opposed and air-cooled engine. Except for the Corvan and Greenbrier, and various 1950s to 1970s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined, a design which was generally advantageous in terms of good traction and low interior noise. This beautiful 1956 panel van is in very good condition, having benefited from a restoration in Florida in 2006. Finished as a period Coca-Cola delivery van, resplendent in two tone paintwork with Coca-Cola script along the flanks and a grey interior in very good order, it also features loading doors on both sides. Supplied with a V5 registration document, MoT test certificate and road fund licence valid until October 2008, this striking van is nicely detailed and will certainly turn heads when out on the delivery run.