Volkswagen Bus - Camper Van And Pick-Up

There are vehicles designed to get you from A to B as quickly as possible, and then there is the Volkswagen Bus, a machine that suggests the journey itself is considerably more important than arriving anywhere in particular. Preferably the journey should involve a coastal road, a spectacular sunset, several questionable fashion decisions and an engine producing just enough horsepower to make overtaking a bicycle an ambitious undertaking.

In Volkswagen Bus – Camper Van and Pick-Up (1997), Andrea and David Sparrow celebrate one of the most recognisable and affectionately remembered vehicles in automotive history. Published by Veloce Publishing, this illustrated tribute explores the wonderful world of Volkswagen’s versatile Transporter, from its practical commercial origins to its transformation into an international symbol of freedom, adventure and the apparently irresistible attraction of sleeping in a vehicle considerably smaller than the average garden shed.

Originally conceived as a modest working vehicle, the Volkswagen Bus quickly demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for reinvention. It could carry goods, transport workers, serve as a mobile workshop or become a camper van equipped with the essential facilities for a holiday involving folding furniture, improvised cooking arrangements and an intimate acquaintance with the weather.

The pick-up versions offered practical utility with unmistakable character, proving that commercial vehicles need not resemble industrial refrigerators to perform useful work. Meanwhile, camper conversions transformed the humble Transporter into a mobile lifestyle, particularly popular among travellers who regarded hotel reservations, fixed itineraries and reliable heating as unnecessary restrictions upon personal liberty.

Of course, the Volkswagen Bus became inseparable from the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, when brightly painted examples travelled across Europe and America carrying musicians, surfers, students and people whose plans for the future were reassuringly vague. Few vehicles have achieved such cultural significance while offering such modest acceleration.

The Sparrows’ book captures the appeal of these remarkable machines, celebrating their distinctive styling, practical ingenuity and enduring popularity among enthusiasts. From hardworking pick-ups to lovingly restored camper vans, the Volkswagen Bus represents a wonderfully democratic form of motoring: a vehicle equally at home delivering building materials or transporting its occupants towards a beach where nobody is particularly concerned about the time.

Naturally, ownership can involve certain challenges. Classic Volkswagen enthusiasts must occasionally contend with rust, mechanical eccentricities and the discovery that maintaining a carefree lifestyle requires a surprisingly substantial supply of money and replacement parts. Nevertheless, the affection inspired by these vehicles remains remarkably undiminished.

Condition: Near Fine. This is a beautifully preserved previously owned copy dating from 1997, with minimal signs of age or handling. Unlike many surviving Volkswagen camper vans, it requires no welding, replacement body panels or enthusiastic application of filler before being considered presentable.

Published by Veloce Publishing in 1997. ISBN: 9781874105787.

Offered by Crappy Old Books, where we appreciate the romance of the open road, particularly when it can be enjoyed from a comfortable armchair without the expense of restoring a forty-year-old camper van.

A delightful addition to any collection of Volkswagen literature, classic commercial vehicles or camper van history. Particularly recommended for enthusiasts who understand that true motoring freedom means travelling wherever the mood takes you, provided there is a reasonably gentle hill and somewhere convenient to stop for tea.

Keep browsing: See more Transport books Other books by Andrea and David Sparrow