{{Short description|Series of vans}} {{use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox automobile | name = Volkswagen Transporter | image = 2017 Volkswagen Transporter BlueMotion.jpg | caption = | manufacturer = Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles | aka = {{unbulleted list | Volkswagen Type 2 (until 2002) | Kombi }} | production = November 1949 – present | assembly = Germany: Hanover | class = Light commercial vehicle/Large MPV (Multivan/Caravelle) (M) | body_style = {{unbulleted list | Van (cargo/passenger) | Minibus | Campervan | Pickup truck | Crew cab | Chassis cab }} | layout = | platform = | predecessor = }}
The '''Volkswagen Transporter''', based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its seventh generation, refers to a series of vans produced for over 70 years and marketed worldwide.
The T series is now considered an official Volkswagen Group automotive platform.<ref name=AD&P>{{cite news|title=Europe's slight rise & anticipated decline – Auto by the Numbers – car sales, production in Western Europe – Illustration – Statistical Data Included|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KJI/is_4_114/ai_85009249/pg_2/|work=Automotive Design & Production, April 2002 by Mark Fulthorpe / Gardner Publications, Inc. / Gale Group|publisher=CBS Interactive Business UK|access-date=17 December 2009 | year=2002}}</ref><ref name=CSM>{{cite web|title=Im Fokus: Volkswagen – Kernkompetenz: Sparen|url=http://www.automobil-produktion.de/imperia/md/content/ap/heftausgaben/ap2006/ap03-2006/14_15_ap.pdf|language=de|work=CSM Worldwide|publisher=Automobil-Produktion.de|date=March 2006|access-date=17 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718200927/http://www.automobil-produktion.de/imperia/md/content/ap/heftausgaben/ap2006/ap03-2006/14_15_ap.pdf|archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref> and generations are sequentially named T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 and T7. Pre-dating the ''T platform'' designations, the first three generations were named '''Type 2''', indicating their relative position to the Type 1, or Beetle. As part of the ''T platform'', the first three generations are retroactively named T1, T2 and T3.
The Transporter is the best-selling van in history with over 12 million units sold worldwide,<ref name=Parkers>{{cite news|title=Top 20 best-selling vans of all time|url=http://parkers.co.uk/vans/news-and-advice/2015/august/top-20-best-selling-vans-of-all-time/|work=Parkers Van News|publisher=Bauer Media|access-date=12 August 2015 | year=2015}}</ref> and it comprises a gamut of variants including vans, minivans / minibuses, campervans, and chassis cab and pickup trucks. Competitors include the Ford Transit, Toyota HiAce and Mercedes-Benz Vito.
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== Type 2 ==
=== T1 (1950){{anchor|T1}} === {{main|Volkswagen Type 2 (T1)}}
Initially derived from the Volkswagen Type 1 (Volkswagen Beetle), the '''Volkswagen Type 2 (T1)''' was the first generation of Volkswagen's Transporter family.
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:1952 VW Barndoor brown back.jpg|T1 (front) File:1964 Volkswagen T1 Transporter Kombi bus (6106456722).jpg|T1 (rear) </gallery>
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=== T2 (1967){{anchor|T2}} === {{Main article|Volkswagen Type 2 (T2)}}
The '''Volkswagen T2''' platform<ref name=CSM/> was marketed from 1967 through 1979 model years, with a Volkswagen Type 4 engine optionally available from 1972 on.
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:Vw bus t2b neu v sst.jpg|T2 File:VW T2b camper.JPG|T2b Camper </gallery>
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=== T3 (1979){{anchor|T3}} === {{main article|Volkswagen Type 2 (T3)}}
The '''Volkswagen (Type 2) T3 Transporter''', also known as '''T25''' in the UK or '''VW Vanagon''' in the United States, was introduced in 1979. The T3 Transporter was one of the last all-new bodied Volkswagen platforms that still used an air-cooled, rear-engine design.
Compared to its predecessor, (the T2), the T3 was sturdier and heavier, with a slightly larger, much more square and boxy body, that offered more usable interior space than the original models' rounded front side, roof, and edges. The T3, with its front now folding sharply along a horizontal middle axis, instead of the old model's curve, is sometimes called "the wedge" by enthusiasts, to differentiate it from earlier VW "Kombis".
The Volkswagen air-cooled boxer engine was supplanted by a water-cooled one – though still rear-mounted – in 1983. Both Porsche and Oettinger built six-cylinder versions of the T3 Transporter in very small numbers, with the Porsche-built version achieving a top speed around {{cvt|200|km/h|mph|round=5}}.
A four-wheel drive '''Syncro''' model was introduced, premiering in January 1985.<ref name=AGp19>{{cite journal | ref = AG140 | journal = De AutoGids | number = 140 | volume = 6 | page = 19 | title = 63e salon voor bedrijfsvoertuigen: Geen schokkende dingen | trans-title = The 63rd commercial vehicle exhibition: Nothing shocking | first = Tony | last = Verhelle | language = nl-be | date = 1985-02-07 | publisher = Uitgeverij Auto-Magazine | location = Brussels, Belgium }}</ref>
While production of the T3 ended in Europe with the Syncro produced in Austria until 1992, the T3 was also produced in South Africa, until 2002.
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:Vw transporter t3 luft v sst.jpg|T3 (front) File:1984-1986 Volkswagen Caravelle (253) CL van (2015-12-07) 02.jpg|T3 (rear) </gallery>
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== Transporter/Multivan ==
=== T4 (1990){{anchor|T4}} === {{main article|Volkswagen Transporter (T4)}}
The first officially designated "T platform" vehicle, the '''Volkswagen Transporter (T4)'''<ref name=AD&P/> dramatically updated the Volkswagen van line by using a front-mounted, front-wheel drive, water-cooled engine. The T4 was marketed in North America as the Volkswagen Eurovan.
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:VW Transporter 2.5Tdi 2002.jpg|T4 (front) File:VW T4 rear 20080215.jpg|T4 (rear) </gallery>
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=== {{anchor|T5}}T5 (2003) === {{main article|Volkswagen Transporter (T5)}} thumb|Two vehicles of the Belgian police: Federal on the left (two orange stripes on the rear door and a single one on the side) and local on the right (light blue stripes) ==== 2003 (pre-facelift) ==== The '''Volkswagen Transporter (T5)'''<ref name=AD&P/><ref name=CSM/> is a variant of the Volkswagen T platform. In North America it was sold in Mexico but not in the United States nor Canada. As with other light trucks, the T5 range would face a 25% tariff, known as the chicken tax, if imported to the US.
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:VW T5 Transporter front 20080811.jpg|T5 (front; pre-facelift) File:VW T5 Transporter rear 20080811.jpg|T5 (rear; pre-facelift) </gallery>
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==== 2009 (facelift) ==== <gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:VW Transporter TDI (T5) Facelift front 20100902.jpg|T5 (front; facelift) File:VW Transporter TDI (T5) Facelift rear 20100902.jpg|T5 (rear; facelift) </gallery>
The Transporter T5 range received a facelift in late 2009. Updated powertrain options include common rail diesel engines, and a world-first usage in a light commercial vehicle of a dual clutch transmission – namely Volkswagen Group's 7-speed Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG).
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=== {{anchor|T6}}T6 (2016) === {{main article|Volkswagen Transporter (T6)}}
In 2016, Volkswagen released the T6 Transporter which is based on the T5 Transporter. A refreshed version was first shown in 2019 as the T6.1 Transporter.
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:2017 Volkswagen Transporter T28 Highline TDi 2.0 Front.jpg|T6 (front; facelift) File:2018 Volkswagen Transporter T32 Highline TDi 2.0.jpg|T6 (rear; facelift) </gallery>
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=== {{anchor|T7}}T7 ===
==== Multivan (2022) ==== {{main|Volkswagen Multivan (T7)}}
The T7 was released in November 2021 with petrol, diesel and PHEV variants and is only available as a minivan, replacing the Caravelle model for the U.K. market and Multivan in other markets. The T7 Multivan is based on Volkswagen's MQB platform.
The T7 Multivan is not to be confused with the new Volkswagen Transporter panel van and chassis cab models, which will be based on the new 2023 Ford Transit Custom and will be a larger vehicle than the Multivan. The new Transporter shares the vast majority of its body and mechanical components with the Transit, which will be built alongside the new VW Transporter at the Ford Otosan factory in Turkey.
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:VW Multivan 2.0 TDI Life (VII) – f 22012023.jpg|T7 Multivan (front) File:VW Multivan 2.0 TDI Life (VII) – h 22012023.jpg|T7 Multivan (rear) </gallery>
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==== Transporter (2024) ==== {{main|Volkswagen Transporter (2024)}}
In December 2023, the 7th Generation Transporter was officially teased with diesel, PHEV and electric powertrains, with a launch scheduled for the second quarter of 2024. Volkswagen have not applied the T7 designation to this model, which is officially known only as 'Transporter'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.carscoops.com/2023/12/vw-t7-transporter-officially-teased-with-diesel-phev-and-all-electric-powertrains/|title=VW T7 Transporter Officially Teased With Diesel, PHEV, And All-Electric Powertrains|first=Sebastien|last=Bell|date=11 December 2023|website=Carscoops}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200" heights="133"> File:VW Transporter, IAA 2024, Hanover (P1200130).jpg|7th Generation Transporter (front) File:IAA 2024, Hanover (P1200124).jpg|7th Generation Transporter (rear) </gallery>
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== See also == * Abt Sportsline * Chassis cab
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Volkswagen Type 2}}
{{Volkswagen Group Platforms |state=expanded}} {{Volkswagen Group brands}} {{Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles}} {{Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Europe) timeline}} {{Volkswagen (North America) timeline 1950-1979}} {{Volkswagen (North America) timeline 1980 to date}} {{Volkswagen (South America) timeline 1980 to date}}
Category:Vans Category:Minibuses Category:Minivans Category:ANCAP vans Category:Front-wheel-drive vehicles Category:All-wheel-drive vehicles Category:Cars introduced in 1950 Category:Cars powered by VR engines Category:1950s cars Category:1960s cars Category:1970s cars Category:1980s cars Category:1990s cars Category:2000s cars Transporter Category:Pickup trucks