Volkswagen Type 2
Ben Pon concept · 1950
The Volkswagen Type 2 is a forward-control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950. It was Volkswagen's second mass-production light motor vehicle series, inspired by Dutch importer Ben Pon. Pon conceived the design after seeing a Type 1-based Plattenwagen in Wolfsburg in 1946 and sketched it on 23 April 1947, specifying a 690 kg payload and front-placed driver. Production began in 1950, delayed only because the factory was at capacity building the Type 1. For its first 40 years, all variants used a forward-control layout with a rear-mounted flat-four engine and shared the Beetle’s wheelbase.