The iconic VW Transporter first went into mass production on 8 March 1950 – 75 years ago!
We’re celebrating this amazing milestone with 75 exclusive deals, and have pulled together some information on the history of the VW Transporter – from the early T2 Split Screen through to the modern VW T6.1 – for you to read all about.
There's also information about some of the VW Transporters we've owned over the years, as well as how to get your VW T2 Split Screen on display at Goodwood Revival this summer!
You can click here to see all 75 deals, or use the links below to jump to the most interesting parts of the VW Transporter’s 75-year history.
Jump to:
75 Deals to Celebrate 75 Years of the VW Transporter
A (Relatively) Brief History of the VW Transporter
Just Kampers and the VW Transporter
Celebrate 75 Years of the VW Transporter at Goodwood Revival
75 Deals to Celebrate 75 Years of the VW Transporter
We’re offering even better deals on some of our most popular VW Transporter parts and accessories, as we celebrate 75 years since the Transporter first went into mass production.
You can get great savings on some of our top-quality Preservation Parts products, as well as a whole range of Just Kampers Exclusive parts and accessories which we make ourselves and aren’t available anywhere else.
These deals will be available from 00:00 on Thursday 6 March 2025 until 23:59 on Sunday 16 March 2025.
Click here to see all 75 exclusive deals, or read on to find out more about the long and storied history of the VW Transporter.
The (Relatively) Brief History of the VW Transporter
The VW T2 Split Screen first went into mass production in the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany on 8 March 1950. In the 75 years since then, the T2 Split has become one of the most recognisable vehicles in the world, and the Transporter is still a vital part of Volkswagen to this day.
While the first VW Transporters rolled off the production line in 1950, their story truly begins in 1947 when Ben Pon, who was importing Volkswagens into the Netherlands, saw the motorised trolleys being used to move parts around the VW factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, and created a sketch of a van based on the VW Beetle.
This sketch is widely credited as the original inspiration for the VW Transporter, which the engineers at Volkswagen then worked to make a reality.
Volkswagen first unveiled the VW Transporter – the iconic VW T2 Split Screen – at the 1949 Geneva Motor Show in November of that year, with the first mass-produced Transporters rolling out of the Wolfsburg factory just four months later in March 1950.
While we tend to think of classic VW Transporters as campers, they were originally intended to be used by businesses for moving goods and supplies around – hence the name!
It didn’t take long for people to realise that they’d make great campervans, though, and the first Westfalia campers were produced in 1951.
A whole range of other styles were produced, including panel vans, microbuses, and pickup trucks, until the T2 Split was replaced in 1967 by the VW T2 Bay.
Production of the VW T2 Split Screen may have ended in Germany in 1967, but they were still produced in Brazil until 1975.
Their unique design and popularity with businesses, families, and campers has made them an iconic part of motoring history.
Following the success of the VW T2 Split Screen, the VW T2 Bay was produced in Germany from 1967 until 1979, in Mexico from 1968 until 1994, in Argentina from 1980 to 1986, and in Brazil from 1976 to 2003.
The T2 Bay was another massive success for Volkswagen, and it was popular both for its distinctive style and the improvements to the way it handled and operated compared to its predecessor.
In fact, Volkswagen continued to constantly make small improvements on the VW T2 Bay, with the biggest changes coming around 1972 which saw the switch from ‘early’ Bays with lower front indicators and rounded air intakes at the rear, and the ‘late’ Bays which featured higher front indicators and more square air intakes, amongst other differences.
There were just as many variations of, and uses for, the T2 Bay as before, and this massive utility was quickly becoming synonymous with the VW Transporter.
The Bay was slightly larger than the Split Screen, which made them even more useful as everything from people carriers to campervans, as well as more rugged work vans using the pick-up models.
These days the VW T2 Bay is generally seen as one of the world’s most iconic campervans, but back in the 1960s and 1970s they were much-loved workhorses used by people and businesses around the world.
Production of the VW T2 Bay was phased out in 1979, when Volkswagen got their German factories ready to begin production on the VW T25.
Also known as the VW T3 in Europe or the Vanagon in the USA, the VW T25 started out as an air-cooled van like the Split and Bay before it, but in 1981 Volkswagen began creating them with water-cooled diesel and petrol engines.
While these engines were still mounted in the rear of the vehicle, like the earlier Transporters, this marked the end of air-cooled engines being fitted to vans.
Like the T2 Bay before it, the VW T25 had a full revamp around halfway through its production lifecycle. These changes came in 1985 and included an updated exhaust system, front suspension, locks on the sliding doors, fuel injection in the engine, and more.
1985 also saw the introduction of the VW T25 Syncro, a four-wheel drive variant which was built with Steyr/Daimler/Puch in Austria.
We’ve always had a soft spot for the Syncro, and have owned several of them over the years, and a few of the JK Team still own T25 Syncros now.
In 1990 things shifted again, with the VW T25 being phased out in favour of the new VW T4.
This was probably the most dramatic change that the VW Transporter had yet seen in terms of aesthetics and engineering, and is where we draw the line between ‘classic campers’ and ‘modern campers’.
The T4 featured a water-cooled engine, like the T25 before, but it was mounted in the front!
This is when the Transporter name for VW’s vans really stuck, as the name was used extensively in Volkswagen’s marketing for their new vehicle.
The T4 continued with the trend of being larger and heavier than the previous model, and was also available in a wide range of formats from panel vans to kombis to caravelles to pickups, and even a razorback variant with a hydraulic rear loading area!
A new option was added with the introduction of the VW T4, too: long wheelbase and short wheelbase versions.
This is an option which has continued to be available with all subsequent Transporters, and made the T4 even more adaptable and useful for a massive array of different purposes.
Of course, the VW T4 was eventually replaced by the VW T5, with the new Transporter going into mass production in 2003.
Larger again than the VW T4, and with a more modern, aerodynamic design the VW T5 saw the continued popularity of the Volkswagen Transporter range continue into the new millennium.
The T5 was available as a panel van, half-panel, pick-up, kombi, shuttle and even as taxis and emergency service vehicles.
2010 saw a significant change in the form and function of the VW T5, with the ‘facelift’ VW T5.1 being released that year.
The VW T5.1 had some obvious changes, most notably to the front end, hence the term ‘facelift’ being used.
The front lights, front bumper, grill and bonnet all changed, as did the wing mirrors, but there were also a lot of mechanical changes which weren’t as obvious until you took the new T5.1 for a drive!
The reign of the VW T5 (and VW T5.1) came to an end in 2015, when they were replaced by the VW T6.
Although it was based on the same platform as the T5, the VW T6 made a lot of adjustments to the Transporter, both large and small, which made it even more modern, safe, and comfortable.
While visually the change from the T5 to the T6 wasn’t as stark as from the T2 Split to the T2 Bay, or from the T25 to the T4, the two Transporters are still very distinct – whether you’re behind the wheel or see them parked up side by side.
As always, the VW T6 was available in a wide range of different body layouts and interiors, with the California being a really popular factory-made T6 campervan.
The T6 also received a ‘facelift’ about half way through it’s production cycle, which saw improvements to several key mechanical systems, as well as an aesthetic overhaul of the front end.
Officially the VW T6 and VW T6.1 are now out of production, having been replaced by the VW T7 – launched in 2024 and available as a standard Transporter and as a Multivan.
We’ve got high hopes for the future of the VW Transporter, and expect to be enjoying them and seeing them on the road for years to come.
If you want to read more about the history of the VW Transporter, then you can click here to see our full timeline, which has lots more photos and information.
Just Kampers and the VW Transporter
We’ve been big fans of the VW Transporter since the very start of Just Kampers, when we first set up as a small repairs and restorations workshop in September 1989.
In the 35-and-a-bit years since then we’ve owned countless Transporters of every kind, from the T2 Split through to the T6.1 and everything in between!
We’ve driven a VW T2 Bay from Los Angeles to New York, helped create the world lowest VW T25 camper in front of a live audience, built our own VW T6 Swamper, helped import VW T2 Bays from Brazil to the UK, driven more miles in Transporters than we can count, and spent more time in, under, and around VWs than any of us can remember.
Here's a few of our favourite VW Transporters that we’ve owned over the years!
Mark Reynolds' first VW T2 Bay - 1989
Mark Reynolds started Just Kampers in 1989 as a small repairs workshop, but before that he was planning to drive his first VW T2 Bay across the Sahara Desert and all the way to South Africa!
He was working as a mechanic at Henley Beetles at the time, and his friends also had VWs and drove around together in them all the time, so he was pretty confident he could make it to South Africa, but he ended up founding Just Kampers instead!
Just Kampers' Last Full Restoration – 1994
Here's a photo of the last vehicle that we ever did a full restoration on, back when Just Kampers was still a full-time workshop.
This VW T2 Split Screen really did have a full restoration, and was taken back to bare metal and sandblasted before being carefully reassembled by Mark and the rest of the JK Team!
Just Kampers' VW T2 Bay Kemperink – 2002
Skipping ahead a few years (and a few dozen VWs) now, this Kemperink is one of the most memorable of the countless Volkswagens we've had over the years.
We owned this VW T2 Bay Kemperink, with it's unusual, distinctive, but very useful conversion for years. Each Kemperink was created by a small coachbuilding firm in Holland, which was also named Kemperink - hence the name!
Vancake: The World's Lowest Camper Van – 2008
We helped to build Vancake, the World’s Lowest Camper Van, in front of a live audience at Bug Jam 2008, when health and safety laws at public events were maybe a little different!
Pete Dempsey, who's been part of the JK Team almost since the beginning, joined Andy Saunders and his team to turn a VW T25 into a world record holder in one weekend - a record which still stands today!
The JK Project Bus – 2011
We built this VW T2 Bay as a team, using parts from our warehouse and the on-site workshop here at JK HQ!
Loads of people got involved, and it was a great chance for some of the newer members of the JK Team to get hands on with fixing up a classic Volkswagen, as well as an opportunity to test out some new parts and accessories to see if they were up to scratch.
JK's VW T2 Split Screen Postal Bus – 2019
When we saw this iconic VW T2 Split Screen post bus come up for sale, we figured that we couldn't really pass up the opportunity to buy it, what with us being a mail-order company shipping out tens of thousands of orders for classic camper owners around the world!
The excuse worked, and we got our hands on this gorgeous and extremely rare 1959 Volkswagen Type 2 Swivel-Seat Kombi, which is one of just eleven known to still be around. The driver’s seat in the front rotated, to allow the postie to get in and out more easily, which is a cool touch!
The JK & EMPI VW T2 Bay – 2024
Our most recent VW Transporter project, this VW T2 Bay was built by the JK team in the on-site workshop here at Just Kampers, using a combination of parts from our warehouse and new parts and accessories from EMPI.
We finished it just in time to cruise it on over to Chimay, Belgium for European Bug-In in 2024, and it drove like an absolute dream!
This has been just a small selection of the hundreds of different Volkswagens we've owned since Just Kampers got started back in 1989.
Last summer we shared 35 of our favourite VWs as we celebrated 35 years of Just Kampers, so you can click here to see even more cool vehicles from our past!
Celebrate 75 Years of the VW Transporter at Goodwood Revival
We’re not the only ones who think 75 years of the VW Transporter is worth celebrating – our friends at Goodwood are devoting a whole section of the world-renowned Goodwood Revival to the VW T2 Split Screen this summer!
Not only will the famous track at Goodwood be taken over by parading T2 Splits each day at the event, but they’re aiming to create the most diverse display of VW T2 Split Screens ever seen – and you could be part of it!
If you’ve got a Splitscreen and want to get it on the track at Goodwood Revival this September, then click here to get in touch with some info and images of your T2.
You’ll just need to fill this quick form with your details, information about your T2 Split, and some recent photos of it. We’ll pass your info and images on to our friends at Goodwood, and they’ll get back to you by Monday 31 March 2025.
Since they’re trying to bring together the most varied VW T2 Split Screens as possible, it’s definitely worth getting in touch with Goodwood to see if you and your T2 can take part in the iconic Opening Parade which will kick off each day of the event!
