For enthusiasts of vintage automobiles, especially those captivated by the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, certain images become deeply ingrained in our minds. Among these recurring visions is a peculiar anomaly: a Volkswagen Beetle, seemingly truncated and transformed into a diminutive pickup truck. This isn’t just any custom job; it’s a factory-produced oddity with a fascinating story. Many VW aficionados stumble upon a picture of this vehicle early in their car passion, often sparking a quest to understand its origins and purpose. While information remains scarce even today, we can delve into the intriguing history of this unique vehicle, the Classic Vw Beetle Pickup, officially known as the Type 100. Prepare to be enlightened about this quirky piece of Volkswagen history.
To truly appreciate the Type 100, it’s essential to consider the broader context of early Volkswagen commercial vehicles. Ironically, the first vehicle to genuinely embody the Volkswagen company’s ethos of practical transportation wasn’t the Beetle itself, but rather the Type 2 Transporter, famously known as the VW Bus. While millions of Beetles preceded it, the Beetle’s development began under less conventional circumstances, linked to pre-war Nazi Germany and the KdF (Kraft durch Freude) program. Volkswagen AG, as a formal company, emerged after World War II. The Type 2, conceived and developed in this post-war era, was the company’s first true independent creation, designed purely as a Volkswagen product.
This historical backdrop is crucial because the Type 100 represents an adaptation of the fundamental KdF/VW platform for commercial utility, deviating from the Beetle’s original passenger car design. The concept of repurposing the Beetle’s robust foundation for hauling predates even the Type 100. Volkswagen factory workers themselves pioneered this idea with the Plattenwagen, rudimentary platform vehicles built on Beetle chassis to facilitate material transport within the plant. These were effectively reverse pickup trucks, with the loading platform positioned at the front.
These utilitarian Plattenwagen inadvertently inspired Ben Pon, a Dutch Volkswagen importer, during a 1947 factory visit. Witnessing these functional platforms sparked the idea that led to his now-famous sketch of what would become the iconic Type 2 Transporter.
However, even before the advent of the VW Bus, the nascent Volkswagen enterprise was already experimenting with commercial vehicles based on available resources: the KdF/Beetle and the military-grade Kübelwagen. Surprisingly, a diverse range of commercial variants emerged from this period, including Beetle-bodied pickup trucks, box vans, Kübelwagen-based trucks, trailer-towing adaptations, small vans, and even vehicles modified to run on wood gas generators.
While some of these commercial KdF vehicles were wartime creations, a significant number were produced during the post-war era under the supervision of Major Ivan Hirst. This British officer, part of the Allied Control Commission, oversaw the Wolfsburg factory from 1945 until the formal establishment of Volkswagen as we know it in 1949. It is within this period of resourceful innovation that our featured vehicle, the diminutive and intriguing Type 100 classic VW Beetle pickup, was born.
As mentioned earlier, the image of the Type 100 is likely familiar to dedicated Volkswagen enthusiasts. It’s a vehicle that often surfaces in Volkswagen history books and online image searches, a testament to its enduringly curious design.
The Type 100 embodies a unique aesthetic, a blend of stunted proportions and a quirky charm that’s both endearing and slightly unconventional. This intriguing vehicle, known as the Type 100, is indeed a truck, albeit a very compact one. Interestingly, it’s sometimes also referred to as a tractor, or, in a rather descriptive German term, a zug-maschinen.
The term zug-maschinen typically denotes tractor-trailer trucks, vehicles engineered to haul unpowered trailers for various purposes, from freight to agricultural equipment. This designation offers a clue to the Type 100’s design and intended use. Perhaps the small pickup bed, or more accurately, cargo box, situated directly above the engine, was a secondary feature to its primary function as a towing vehicle.
Let’s examine the Type 100’s construction in detail. It utilizes a KdF/Beetle body, at least up to the A-pillars, mounted on a significantly shortened Kübelwagen chassis. This chassis modification is quite dramatic, foreshadowing the later dune buggy craze with a considerable reduction in length, most noticeably behind the door and before the rear fender. The Kübelwagen chassis also contributes to its functionality, incorporating reduction gears at the rear for increased ground clearance and enhanced torque, characteristics often associated with off-road and utility vehicles.
The shortening of the chassis necessitated modifications to the Beetle doors. A distinctive arc was cut out at the rear of the door to accommodate the repositioned rear fender. Furthermore, the door window was redesigned into a two-part configuration: a fixed, narrow window behind the door and a reduced-width roll-down window in the forward section of the door.
While some sources suggest a sliding window mechanism, closer inspection of available images indicates a narrow roll-down window. This design choice likely simplified manufacturing, allowing for the retention of the existing window regulator mechanism with simply resized glass.
The Type 100 incorporates early KdF-style “banana” bumpers, complete with the exposed single horn, and Kübelwagen-style semaphore indicators positioned ahead of the A-pillars. Their usual B-pillar location is absent due to the shortened body. The rear section, below the cargo box and enclosing the engine, appears to be derived from the vented, semi-cylindrical body panel used on the Type 83 KdF-style box trucks and vans, of which approximately 275 were produced in late 1945.
In addition to the Type 83, around 219 similar trucks, designated Type 28, were constructed using Kübelwagen bodies. However, the presses for Kübelwagen bodies were located at a separate factory, Ami-Budd. Once the supply of Kübelwagen body parts diminished, production shifted to utilizing Beetle bodies for these experimental truck variants.
This Beetle-based box truck, the Type 83, bears a resemblance to the Type 100 in its Beetle-body-on-Kübel-chassis configuration. The Type 83’s body was also modified behind the doors to accommodate a corrugated box cargo area, with the engine situated beneath. However, the Type 83 and its pickup truck variants (Types 81 and 88) were built on full-length chassis, resulting in significantly larger and more practical cargo capacities.
These early Volkswagen trucks served essential roles. They were utilized within the factory itself and deployed externally for mail delivery and ambulance duties. They represented the quickest truck solutions that the post-war Wolfsburg factory could improvise, functioning as the company’s initial foray into commercial vehicles during the transitional period of British control.
In many respects, these unusual hybrid vehicles paved the way for the Type 2 Transporter. They served as tangible demonstrations that the fundamental VW mechanical components were indeed adaptable for commercial applications.
The inherent design limitations of adapting a rear-engine platform for pickup truck or van configurations – a challenge unless considered from the initial design phase – likely highlighted the engineering hurdles. This understanding probably contributed to Ben Pon’s eventual conceptualization of the box-like, front-engine design that became the highly successful Type 2.
Returning to the enigmatic Type 100 classic VW Beetle pickup, the exact production figures remain elusive. It’s likely that only a very limited number were manufactured, possibly just a handful. Photographic evidence reveals a prominent tow ball at the rear, reinforcing the notion that these vehicles were indeed intended for trailer towing, perhaps within the confined spaces of the factory or in an airport-tug capacity.
This potential towing function would rationalize the shrunken dimensions of the Type 100. A compact trailer-hauler with a modest cargo area for tools or equipment would have been a valuable asset in a factory setting. Reports also suggest that both British and French military forces employed Type 100s as tractors or tugs. However, the precise nature of their usage – whether exclusively for trailer hauling or potentially in an agricultural context pulling plows and farm implements – remains somewhat unclear.
The Type 100 embodies elements of both the rudimentary Plattenwagen and a nimble runabout, capable of maneuvering in tight spaces and potentially even fitting onto freight elevators. While its exact purpose may be shrouded in some historical ambiguity, the Type 100 remains a charming and peculiar footnote in Volkswagen history.
It’s believed that no original Type 100s have survived to this day. However, at least one replica exists, keeping the spirit of this unique vehicle alive. If you happen to find a VW Beetle floorpan that’s been shortened for a Meyers Manx dune buggy project, but your dune buggy aspirations wane, perhaps embarking on a Type 100 replica build would be a compelling alternative. After all, sometimes a little automotive obscurity and unconventional design is precisely what makes a classic car truly fascinating.
