Beachie Keen: 1973 Type 181 The Thing
The Type 181, known in the US as The Thing, shared its mechanicals with Volkswagen’s Type 1 (Beetle), its platform with the pre-1968 Microbus and its concept with the company’s renowned Kublewagen, which had been used by the German military during World War II. VW sold many 181s to NATO as an interim model during the development of NATO’s Europa JEEP Concept vehicle. The civilian version was a bare bones beach buggy in the US and a more capable mode of transport in 3rd world countries with poor roads. Now you can imagine that because of the very nature of The Thing, not many have survived intact. And that’s what makes this one unique. It is pretty much all original right down to the orange paint. The rare hardtop option has an even more rare roof rack. The engine is your standard Type 1 1600cc and it too appears very stock. The interior was spartan to begin with – the only luxury being a gas-heater and a radio. This one has both. Okay so it is not as cute as the Mini Cooper or The Jolly. The price reflects that at $16,000. Not inexpensive but if you live in a place where you can motor top down all year round, this could be just the ticket. See it here at OLDBUG.COM