The idea for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon, who drew the first sketches of the van in 1947. The aerodynamics of the first prototypes were not good but heavy optimisation took place at the wind tunnel of the Technical University of Braunschweig. The wind tunnel work was obviously a success, the Type 2 was aerodynamically superior to the Beetle despite its slab-sided shape. Three years later, under the direction of Volkswagen's new CEO Heinz Nordhoff, the first production model left the factory at Wolfsburg.
The Transporter not only evolved over time, but was completely revised periodically with variations referred to as versions "T1" to "T5".
The Type 2 was among the first commercial vehicles in which the driver was seated above the front wheels. As such, it started a trend, at least in Germany, where other manufacturers copied the setup. This configuration was also adopted in the United States, where the Corvair-based 1960 Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van even went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and a mid-70s water-cooled version from Fiat, the 850 Microbus (neither of which were produced in great numbers) the VW remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the Panel Van which couldn't easily be loaded from the rear due to the engine cover intruding on interior space, but was advantageous in terms of traction and interior noise.
Another trend that the VW Transporter gave momentum to, is the use of tarted up commercial vans as people carriers. This first took hold in the United States in the 1960s, aided by advertising by the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency.
The Bus gained popularity during the hippie era in the United States, since its boxy, utilitarian shape made it everything the American cars of the day were not. Used models were also very cheap to buy. Since that time, however, the original 1950–1967 Type 2 has sold out to capitalism man and become a collector's item with special variations reaching into North American five-figure price territory. The second generation has also passed its low-price years and is on its way to collector status.
