Home of the flower power generation: the VW Camper

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Mention Volkswagen vans to the average American or Brit, and the first image that appears in their minds is a so-called hippie van emblazoned with peace symbols and flower power decals, with surfboards strapped on top or sticking out the back. But to rabid VW collectors, the mental images that arise are those of 21-window Safari "Kombis" and Westfalia campers, like the exceptional vehicle being auctioned at Bonham's sale of "Collectors' Motorcars and Memorabilia" at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance on Sunday, June 2, 2013. Westys, as VW collectors term these officially-sanctioned camper conversions by the Westfalia-werke of Franz Knöbel & Söhne in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany, have climbed enormously in value in recent years but it is quite unusual to see one as heavily-optioned as the 1967 Type 2 Westfalia Deluxe Camper being offered by Bonhams at this sale. The 1968 Westfalia trailer is rare to the point of almost never being seen. This camper is also equipped with just about every option available for the vehicle in the day: the framed side tent, the pop-up roof, pop-out front windows, the water dispenser, the deluxe wood-trimmed roof rack, side window wind wings, accessory side step, the original tool kit, and VW mud flaps. Unseen but possibly even rarer than the trailer is a genuine VW "Y" full undercarriage trailer hitch. This vehicle will not go cheaply, based on Bonhams' pre-sale estimate, but Westys in this condition and with this number of options are probably scarcer than hen's teeth (and a lot more fun to own!).
(photo credit: Bonhams/Pawel Litwinski.)

      

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