WHO IS
HANS?
OurmanHans
is theexpert’s
expert.Hewas
atHanoverin
thegloryyears.
Think of him as
a German Uncle
Albert, albeit
one you want
to listen to
when he starts
talking VWsWestfaliais oneof themostrenownedof allVolkswagen
camperconverters.Hardlysurprising,sinceit didn’tjustbuild
some of the best, it also pioneered the whole idea of them
WordsRichard Gunn / Hans Klapp PicsVolksWorld archive / Richard GunnW
estfalia. Words fail us when it comes
to this most masterful and famous
of German conversion companies
associated with Volkswagen’s Type 2.
Its achievements don’t just extend to creating some
of the greatest VW ‘homes-on-wheels’ ever; it also
practically invented the whole concept of camping
in your Bus in the early 1950s. And, having got that
whole thing off the ground, it then proceeded to
build some of the cleverest and most professional
adaptations, forging a close relationship with
Wolfsburg that continued into the 21st century. It
was only when Westfalia fell into the hands of VW
competitor DaimlerChrysler - the parent fi rm of
Mercedes-Benz - that the camp love-in came to an
end. Still, now independent again, you can buy a
Westfalia Volkswagen Transporter once more.
As much as Westfalia is - and probably forever
will be - associated with Volkswagen, the fi rm’s
origins go back over a century before the Type 2
was even a twinkle in the eye of its originator Ben
Pon. It started out in 1844 as a blacksmith’s forge
and agricultural works in Wiedenbruck, within the
Westfalia district of Prussia, founded by Johann
Bernhard Knobel. Soon the business had diversifi ed
into horse harnesses, and then, towards the end of
the 19th century, into sturdy goods carts for farms
and freight transport to railway stations. Eventually,
Westfalia-Werke expanded further into general
coachbuilding, including camping trailers and
caravans. An early claim to fame came along in
1932 when the company invented the ball-and-barsystemoftowing, now the universal standard by
which vehicles tow trailers and caravans. Cheers for
that, Westfalia. We think...
After the Second World War, during which
Westfalia’s premises were seriously damaged, the
company initially concentrated on small caravans.
There are confl icting stories as to how the move
into Volkswagens came about. In one version, a
German couple bought one of
Westfalia’s caravans in 1949 or
1950 and liked it so much that
they asked Westfalia to do a
similar job on their new VW
Type 2 Kombi. In another, it
was a US army offi cer posted
in Germany who made the
request for a VW Van in
which he could also live, workAIR-COOLED DICTIONARY
W is for Westfalia
V Instead of a
second car, get a
second house.’V
If you didn’t
have an extending
roof, a tent on top
was the next best
thing.V Food on the go.