VW Country Buggy
| Volkswagen | |
|---|---|
 Volkswagen Country Buggy
|
|
| Country buggy | |
| Production period: | 1967-1969 |
| Class : | Lower middle class |
| Body versions : | Beach wagon |
| Engines: |
Otto engines : 1.2–1.5 l (25–32 kW) |
| Length: | 3718 mm |
| Width: | 1643 mm |
| Height: | 1191-1557 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2400 mm |
| Empty weight : | 774 kg |
The VW Country Buggy was a buggy manufactured by Volkswagen Australasia Ltd. from 1967 to 1969. was built. The Country Buggy, also known as Type 197 , was designed by the company's managing director, Rudi Herzmer, and VW engineer Cyril Harcourt for the rough road conditions in Australia and built in the factory in Clayton (Victoria) .
The Country Buggy was based on the chassis of the Australian-made VW Beetle , from which the engine also came. The front axle and the rear axle with gearbox and countershaft were from the first-generation VW transporter .
Originally, the Country Buggy was supposed to be an amphibious vehicle , but VW did not agree to these plans.
Production began in July 1967 and the cars were exported to the Philippines , Singapore , New Zealand and some other small Pacific states.
The Philippine Country Buggy were offered as Sakbayan , a combination of the words "Sasakyan" (German: vehicle) and "Bayan" (German: nation or country). In the Pam Grier film Black Mama, White Mama you can see several country buggies as police vehicles. Actually it was Sakbayan, since the film was shot in the Philippines.
VW Wolfsburg developed the VW 181 based on the Australian model.
A country buggy with a fabric roof can be clearly seen in a 1969 Australian Coca-Cola commercial featuring an Australian band called The Executives .
Overall, the car was not a great sales success. Early models suffered from a lack of reliability and the later market trend towards the buggy did not yet exist.
Production was stopped in 1969; 1,956 units were built in total. Only a few country buggies have survived to this day, but the Sakbayan is often restored in the Philippines because there is increasing interest in the original VW Beetle .
Web links
- The History of the Country Buggy
- Original brochures of the Country Buggy (English)
- The Country Buggy . VW trends
