I was taking a walk through West Chelsea with my wife and two bulldogs when I happened upon a beautiful specimen of, arguably, one of the most iconic vehicles ever conceived.  I used to see these a lot back in the UK and I’m sure they’re still popular on the US West Coast.  And I wondered when VW might consider revisiting the concept?  Both Scion and Honda have bot launched highly customizable, low cost utility vans. The VW Camper was a fantastic design icon and one of the first vehicles to be created in multiple formats, from multi-person to flat bed truck.   Anyway, I’m sure you’ll agree that this is a beauty!  Volkswagen began subcontracting to the Westfalia-werke in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, or more typically Westfalia, to build the official Volkswagen Camper cars sold in the early 1950s through 2003. Many models and interesting options were available for these vehicles. Early Volkswagen Split Screen windshield Kombi models between 1950 and 1967 are highly sought after collector vehicles. Beginning in the 1968 model year Volkswagen introduced the bay window replacing the split screen style. Production of Volkswagen camping cars continued well into 2003 and was based on the popular Volkswagen Kombi or “bus” as it is often referred to. Many other coachbuilders such as Dormobile, ASI/Riviera, Danbury Motorcaravans, and VW Sun-Dial also built camping cars based on the Volkswagen bus.The Volkswagen camper has become something of an icon in British and American culture as a symbol of hippy and surf culture than grew in the mid to late 1960s. The van has appeared in countless television series and films from appearing as a terrorist van in the 1985 film Back to the Future, to the “Jed and Dave” sketch performed by British comedy duo Hale and Pace where they impersonated two stereotypical 60s hippies with their Volkswagen camper emblazoned with “flower power”.[3]In the British TV series Top Gear, presenter Richard Hammond attempted to create amphibious versions of the Volkswagen Camper, modelled after a narrowboat. His first attempt, in season 8, frequently overheated on land and eventually foundered when driven into water. The second attempt, appearing in season 10, was slightly more watertight, but still sank when Hammond attempted to cross the English Channel with it.