In a bid to push its all-electric ID Buzz electric van into the world following the March presentation of the vehicle, Volkswagen is currently helping us remember the original Bus (aka Transporter, Kombi, or Microbus) that started it all in 1949. While the US stopped building this back in the late 1970s over emission and safety reasons, it’s been in production until 2014 over in Brazil. However, despite its complete demise, the Volkswagen Bus will continue to live in the hearts of enthusiasts, which often leads to highly customized examples like the Mad Max-like creation.
The versatile nature of the VW Bus means this has made its way from one corner of pop culture to another. For instance, if we are to associate the people mover with a festival, that would clearly be the original Woodstock of 1969.
However, in more recent times, the machine is a crowd favorite at Burning Man. And while the classic van takes a myriad of custom shapes for the Nevada desert event, the example currently parked on our screen takes us back to Brazil.
As you can imagine, the South American country is nothing short of heaven for the VW Bus, bespoke models included. Nevertheless, the owner of this machine—you’ll find his Instagram below—ensured that his Vee-Dub can stand out no matter the crowd. And that’s not just about the fact that you could probably lose track of time staring at all the custom bits fitted to the machine.
Bad to the bone
You see, with its cute face and minimalist design, the Volkswagen Type 1, as its maker calls it, is the kind of machine that’s hard to greet with anything but a generous smile. However, let’s say you fantasize about becoming the car casting specialist for the ever-evolving Mad Max series—be honest, would the Bus be high on your list of priorities? Well, this example might just influence the answer to that question.
And we happen to have a particular fantasy involving this Bus and the real-life Cyberpunk 2077 Quadra V-Tech we discussed yesterday—may the two meet one day!
Now, some might find certain details on the Bus unnecessary—just look at that triple-six badging between the headlights. But who are we to question the ways of The Wasteland? Yep, that pun is very much intended, as this is the name of the future Mad Max: Fury Road sequel that series creator George Miller is still working on.
