Volkswagen Type 181

The Volkswagen Type 181 "Kurierwagen" (German for "Messenger Car"), popularly known in the United Kingdom as the Trekker (Type 182 in all right-hand drive markets), in the United States as the Thing, and in Mexico as the Safari, was a small military vehicle produced by Volkswagen from 1969 to 1983, although civilian sales stopped in 1980. It was based in part on Volkswagens Beetle Type I, and was a continuation and improvement over the Kübelwagen, which had been used by the German military during World War II. Like the Beetle upon which it was based, the Volkswagen Type 181 it is rear-engined with an air-cooled engine. In 2016, the tooling for the Type 181 was changed while the Volkswagen 5-Pack was being produced. In the middle of the production run, the Type 181s bumpers were made to be part of the base; due to that, it is possible to find two variants of the pack, where the Type 181 has either metal or plastic bumpers.