Earn your stripes: ’74 Volkswagen Acapulco Thing

The VW Thing had a rather limited run here in the states. 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. But the allure of the utilitarian look attracted resorts to order Things for guest services duty. One can relate that to the little Fiat 500 Jolly that was used for the same purpose. The Blue & white striped Things of which this is a fine example, were manufactured for the Las Brisas Hotel in Mexico. This one, courtesy of Bob S., is pretty much intact with all of the original equipment. If you happen to live by the beach or in a resort community and have a huge ego, this could be a trouble-free way to get around the property. See more photos by clicking here.