A superb and rare photo of the 1955 Volkswagen T1 Transporter Pick-Up. The Transporter bus or van was officially known as the Volkswagen Type 2. It was introduced in 1950. In August 1952 it was joined by a single-cab pickup. Shown is the 1955 version.

The Volkswagen Transporter, also officially known as the Volkswagen Type 2 (the VW Beetle or Käfer being the Type 1) and informally known as the Volkswagen Bus ) was the second automotive line introduced by German automaker Volkswagen. It was a panel van introduced in 1950, initially based on Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1, the economy car also known as the "Beetle". The Type 2 is the forerunner of modern cargo and passenger vans. The Type 2 spawned a number of imitators, both in the United States and Europe, including the Ford Econoline, Dodge A100, and the Corvair 95 Corvan, the last even adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. As of January 2010, updated versions of this line are produced for international markets, both as a passenger and cargo van, and as a pickup truck. It is also unofficially known as a "microbus", "minibus", "kombi" or "hippie van," the latter due to its popularity with the 1960s/70s counterculture movement. The idea for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to Holland, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible, using the stock Type 1 pan. He returned to the factory close the deal, and in a doodle dated 23 April 1947 drew the first sketches of the van. He posited a payload of 690　kg (1,500 lb), with the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was having difficulties even maintaining Type 1 output. When this abruptly changed, it took a short three months to produce a prototype, which was known internally as the Type 29. It was soon realized the stock Type 1 pan was too weak, and a ladder chassis with unit body construction was produced, instead; by coincidence, the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear originated on the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25　hp (19 kW) flat four. Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (the original drag coefficient was 0.75), optimisation took place at the wind tunnel of the Technical University of Braunschweig. It was learned simple changes, such as adding a "vee" to the windshield and roofline, made a big difference. The production Type 2 was aerodynamically superior to the Type 1, with a Cd of 0.44, compared to 0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production 19 May 1949, and the first production model rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November, now designated Type 2. Only two models were offered, the Kombi (with middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person, and two side windows) and the Commercial; the Microbus (world's first minivan, officially the Type 22) was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all, 9,541 Type 2s were produced in the first year. An ambulance model was added in December 1951, which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle and the spare tire behind the front seat, while adding a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968. Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations referred to as versions "T1" to "T5," although only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle. The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. It started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC copied the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally-opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s-70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which couldn't easily be loaded from the rear due to the engine cover intruding on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise. The Type 2 was available as a Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats; Nippen Tucket, available in six colours, with or without doors; Walk-Through Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides; High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof; Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined; Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation; Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps; Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed; Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine; Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior; Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen; Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on. Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia.

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This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Volkswagen ‘s automotive history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own　this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of　ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.