A Volkswagen Type 2 Schulwagen stayed hidden in a barn for 43 years. And if it weren't for a bus enthusiast and collector, the barn would have probably been the end of it. It is the only such model known to exist to this day.
The model awed the crowds last month at the first International Volkswagen Bus Day in Huntington Beach, California, and then at the Orange County Transporter Organisation's Type 2 event in Long Beach, California. It is not something you would see every day. Because this one is the only one in the world.
The Type 2 Schulwagens saw the light of day with a single purpose. It was supposed to be a training vehicle for the employees of the then-new Volkswagen dealerships in the United States. And this one right here was one of the first used by Volkswagen of America, which was founded in October 1955.
Known to be the sole survivor, this Type 2 Schulwagen belongs to super bus enthusiast and avid collector Lind Biornsen.
Back in the 1950s, Mercedes, Porsche, and Volkswagen vehicles were imported into the United States by Austrian businessman Max Hoffman. He was the one who came up with the idea of a street-legal Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing for the American market, which turned out to be a major hit.
But in 1954, Volkswagen decided to terminate the contract with Hoffman as sole importer. The Germans wanted a dedicated organization in the United States, which would handle the fate of the world's biggest car market. That is the reason they decided to set up Volkswagen of America.
The Germans needed a dealer and distribution network, as well as repair services across the country, in order to make it in the US of A. No rational customer would have bought a car knowing there wouldn't be a post sale parts and repair supportive network.
Volkswagen representatives Will Dan De Kamp and Geoffrey Lange managed to do it. A few months later, the Wolfsburg production center was already sending the very first employees to the US. There were three service tech trainers who were supposed to travel between dealerships in a couple of specially-equipped Type 2 Kombis or Schulwagens, as the Germans called them. They were to train service personnel, thus becoming the basis of Volkswagen's Mobile Service School.
Later on, the fleet expended from two to 14 vehicles. They were, at one point, photographed outside Volkswagen of America's first headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. You can see that exact picture in our photo gallery. With each vehicle costing more than $5,000 or the money you'd normally pay for two 23-window De Luxe models, the Schulwagens were, back then, the most expensive Volkswagens.
Photo: Volkswagen
The only surviving Schulwagen ended up parked in a barn in Ohio. That is where it stayed for 43 years. Bus collector Lind Bjornsen found it and immediately identified it, with Volkswagen confirming that it was built and delivered to the US in January 1955.
Ten layers of paint. That is how many it had gathered in decades. They were all stripped down during the restoration process, until they reached the original Volkswagen of America livery.
The team worked on mechanics and rebuilt everything inside with the speed of light. It only took them five months until the vehicle returned to its former glory.
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