One thing about Volkswagen’s old rear-engined models is that wherever they went, they seemed to pick up distinctive local names — affectionate, quirky, and always memorable. Case in point: this group of “Camats,” the Indonesian nickname for the bare-bones VW Type 181, seen here in a photo uploaded to the CC Cohort by Dave Saunders. Early and later examples gather together in Bali, showcasing one of the many regional identities these utilitarian Volkswagens acquired around the world.
Moving several thousand miles to the UK, here it is as the Trekker –a 1980-registered model, caught by L. Seddon in North Yorkshire.
Here’s a slightly older 2023 Cohort upload: a Safari, the name by which Mexican-built 181s sold in Latin America. Caught by riveranotario, in Mexico City.
And back to another recent image from a US car show, uploaded by Hyperpack. And is this one possessed? I guess that’s the kind of stuff one jokes about when a 181 is called the Thing.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: VW Type 181 “Thing” — It Can Be Anything
Man. When these first came along, thought they were the “coolest”, things.. Can recall a line of “5-6” sitting at the “McDonald Motors, VW” dealership. ((two were bright yellow))
Always my first thought on spotting one of the 181’s is why isn’t it four wheel drive? it just looks like it should be
Yeah, never thought about it back in the day. Only “4wd’s” I knew of then were “Jeeps”, “Scouts”, “Bronco’s”, “GMC’s”, “International’s”. Once winter set in, memories of our “Vdub”, fastback in the cold turned me off to those “cool, Things”. lol
In truth these were so light they didn’t need 4X4 .
In WWII Jeeps could be traded two for one of these (“Kubelwagen”) .
In spite of them being fairly tippy if driven crosswise on a slope, they were pretty good in the chop although many would never drive them off pavement .
In the 1980’s NATO sold many of them off as scrap, many arrived in the U.S.A. still in sipping covers they’d had for decades .
-Nate
In truth these were so light they didn’t need 4X4 .
It’s not the lightness, it’s the fact that they have a rear engine resulting in a high percentage of total weight being over the rear wheels. FWIW, the 181 is only some 300 lbs lighter than an MB Jeep.
In spite of them being fairly tippy if driven crosswise on a slope, they were pretty good in the chop although many would never drive them off pavement .
They had a much lower center of gravity than a Jeep and were decidedly less tippy. Yes, there were folks who didn’t drive them off pavement, but that’s the case with lots of 4 wheel drives
Additionally the Kubelwagen had the world’s first production limited slip rear differential, improving its inherent traction even further. And compared to the Jeep, they rode superbly with their 4 wheel independent suspension. And the rear seats were down low within the body and massively more comfortable. The Jeep was a tractor compared to the VW Kubelwagen: effective in certain extreme conditions but very uncivilized otherwise.
Europe wasn’t like the US in that it had roads everywhere, so 4 WD wasn’t considered a priority. VW had a 4 WD system, but they only used it on the Schwimmwagen and the Beetle Kommando Wagen.
The VW Iltis (type 183) ended up replacing the 181 in the German military in the late 1970s and was front engine with 4WD (but RWD when not in 4WD). (VW’s only RWD watercooled front engine car?) – the VW Iltis eventually donated components to the prototype Audi Quattro and in some way ended up one of the great-grandfathers of the modern AWD road vehicle…
There are at least several Iltis’ in the US, the Lane Museum has one and I passed one on the interstate somewhere between Idaho and Colorado late one night some years back – The speed differential was so great I didn’t realize what it was until I was past it and then felt too awkward to slow down a LOT to let it catch up again… I don’t know that we’ve even featured an Iltis here at CC actually.
My friend Jimmy had a Thing. Back when western Broward County, FL was still mostly undeveloped, heavy rains would leave puddles the size of lakes. One day, I’m driving down Hiatus road and I see Jimmy’s Thing (it does sound a little weird to say that) driving fast through one of those puddles off the side of the road. As I get closer, I see that Jimmy’s not driving it. No – Jimmy was water skiing off the back! Good times.
It’s taken me a great many years to finally a year or so ago realize that while the Thing/181 is basically (overly simplifying here) a square Beetle, it has four doors as opposed to the Beetle’s two. Not that I didn’t know it had four doors, just that that fundamental difference isn’t something I’d really noticed vs the Beetle most of my life. But I know I’ve always liked them!
I’m not a VW person by any means but I do like the Thing and I would probably put one in my “I won a few hundred million in the lottery” warehouse along side a beetle based dune buggy as the two vehicles in the “VW section”
I’m firmly convinced that Daimler must have put a German inside Dodge while the Caliber was being styled. Put a picture of the Caliber side by side with the Kubelwagen and VW Thing.
I took the lead photo. We went to Bali for a holiday recently. I had a booked a tour in a VW Type 181. Unfortunately my wife got a case of food poisoning on the plane ride over and so we missed it. I came across these a few days later. Very colourful!
I was waaaaaaay into VWs when those came out. They seemed interesting, but not up to bug or bus standards. 50 years later they seem the same. If I had the space, I wouldn’t kick one out of the garage if it suddenly appeared, but I wouldn’t go looking for one either.
Still, brings a smile to my face on the very rare occasion I see one.
For those who can read Spanish, this lookalike is for sale in Uruguay. Only 2 181s came over here to be used for molding this fiberglass contraption. I remember Paul published a column on it but can’t find it now.
https://auto.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-1349699580?ua=2V2bsDd0hpG84XaYSJUdNNbouRM#origin=share&sid=share&action=copy
I enjoy when people stage an interesting car in a real estate listing, and this one that I came across last year was pretty memorable – a VW Thing in the driveway of a sprawling Pennsylvania house. Good car placement!