Think of the Volkswagen type 2, which has the most off-road ability in history. The T3 syncro may come to mind, or it may be a modern after-sales market work such as terracamper terrack. However, if you ask Volkswagen, it will expand the topic with a more rare and less known model called "half track Fox".
This unique machine is the latest repair object of Volkswagen. It is a truly amazing thing. At first, it was a beautiful but standard 1962 split. Later, it was converted into a snowmobile exploration vehicle to explore the high and deep mountains of the Austrian Alps.
As one of the most unique examples of Volkswagen for more than 70 years and the seven generations of popular type 2 van, the half track fox was born in the Hanover factory of Volkswagen in may1962. It was delivered to the Austrian buyer and began to live like other type 2 cars at that time. After a short run as a standard T1 van, this special car was sent to the workshop of Austrian mechanic Kurt kretzner, who soon turned it into a very different thing.
As an avid skier, kretzner was frustrated by the lack of truly capable off-road vehicles, so he began to build his own. He was not satisfied with the simple four-wheel drive, but added two axles. The rear pair of axles provided power for a self-made chain driven track system with 13 inch wheels. Two front axles with 14 inch off-road tyres are reserved for steering problems. The rear track distributes weight on soft ground, increases buoyancy and improves traction on snow and other off-road surfaces, while the limited slip differential helps ensure that the driving force pushes the vehicle in the desired direction.
The driving force is provided by the standard 34 HP 1.2L Volkswagen engine, and the brakes are installed on each wheel. The top speed of this sturdy beast is about 22mph (35km/h), much slower than that of the red fox at 30mph (48km/h). Its name and fiery orange appearance are borrowed from the red fox.
"The new, ideal, easy to drive half track fox allows you to master all difficult terrain safely and comfortably," krezner wrote in his promotional materials, "You can drive through snow, sand, stone, mountain grass, streams and trees with this car. It is an ideal helper for everyone: mountain cabin keepers, hunters, forest stewards, doctors, and maintenance engineers for ski lifts, TV and radio masts, pipelines, etc."
It is reported that kretzner built at least two different equipment in the years before 1968, but did not complete the third one. Volkswagen's restoration work may be the only surviving example.
Half track fox should have some epic adventures in its era. It may record the world record on the almost impossible Alps, or shuttle the first descent attempt of skiers on distant mountains. However, Volkswagen intelligence shows that in the next 20 years, the car was rarely seen until it was purchased by the Porsche Museum in geminde, Austria in the early 1990s.
After several changes of ownership, Volkswagen commercial vehicle company acquired the ownership of the half track fox in 2018 and plans to comprehensively repair it. It tried to restore all the mechanical devices to the same working state as the new ones, and stripped and repaired the car body before repainting the matte orange closely related to the original car. The team members developed some creativity internally. They built a simple beech and pine space to make it look like a cross between a ski car, a work car and a Campervan.
A unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will not be wasted. The kind-hearted people of vwcv classic car company didn't simply slide this gorgeous repaired disposable car into the museum, but put it in the snow to show their true love. According to the person who participated in the test mission in February this year, the car showed the excellent climbing ability it envisaged - however, the driver lost his courage and jumped before the end of the track.
Volkswagen concluded: "kresner has created what may be the most off-road bulli in the history of the world."
I hope it will appear on the hillside again and become a part of the future Volkswagen exhibition.
